RUG AND KILIM MATERIALS
The common materials used in Oriental rug and kilim weaving are wool, cotton, silk and floss and pure silk. Together with the characteristics of these materials, it would be useful to look into the dyes used in Oriental rug weaving.Wool Rugs
Wool is the most common material used in the Oriental rug weaving. It is used most often in the pile. However, it may also be occasionally found in warp and/or weft yarns used in the foundation of the rug. Wool's resilience, durability and comfort make it the natural choice of material for the Oriental rug weaving.Cotton Rugs
In rug and kilim weaving, cotton is used mostly for the warp threads and wefts. Compared to wool, cotton is less elastic thus cotton knots are tighter than wool warps. Woolen pile rugs with high knotting density counts will normally have cotton warps as in Hereke, Ladik, and Kayseri Bunyan carpets.Floss Silk Rugs (Imitation or Art Silk)
Floss silk is mercerized cotton and is used in certain rugs that are woven in the Kayseri region of Turkey. Floss silk has somewhat similar look to pure silk that is obtained by mixing cypress tree fibers with cotton that has been washed in citric acid. Floss silk rugs are usually woven with natural cotton warp and weft threads.Pure Silk rugs
Pure silk has a very high tensile strength and can be twisted very finely. The finest silk comes from the first part of the amazingly long single thread. The best and the finest hand-woven silk rugs in the world come from the Hereke region of Turkey. Usually, a normal quality silk Hereke rug should have 1,000,000 knots per square meter. Pure silk is the most expensive material used in oriental rugs. In addition to being the most resilient naturally occurring material, silk provides a luxurious, exquisite look and texture to the rug.Dyes Used in Oriental Weaving:
Until the mid 19th century, when the synthetic dyes were invented, natural dye was the only way to weave oriental rugs. Vegetable dyes are used for Oriental rug weaving for thousands of years. The art of dyeing was initially developed in the Far East. In his travel chronicles, Marco Polo, mentions how indigo was cultured in the Anatolian and Far East regions before it was exported to Europe by Portuguese. Natural dyes are very important for Oriental rug and kilim weaving since they reflect the nature's colors as a hand-woven art form, which goes back thousands of years. The natural dyes will smoothen in time and if left under sun, they will transform into softer shades. It is a common practice to expose naturally dyed rugs to the sun so that the colors fade gradually. Every hand woven rug is truly unique because of the style, knot density, graphics and the material. The exact color of the natural dye is almost unmatchable. In the hand woven rugs often appears a slight change of color which is called an abrash. Abrash occurs when the weaver begins using yarn from a different dye lot than that previously used. Although this does not affect the value of the rug it proves that the dye is natural and no other rug is alike. Turkish rugs and kilims are recognized for their value and beauty created with natural dyes obtained from vegetables and other plants.Some of the most popular dyes and colors are:
Indigo Blue: Indigo provides dark or light blue tones depending on the length of boiling time of the plant. It is the oldest and most important blue dye for oriental rug weaving.
Madder Red: It grows wild in Central and Western Anatolia. A two year old plant will be about one and half meters tall and it gives a rich deep toned red color.
Ox-Eye Chamomile Bright Yellow: This plant can be found all over Anatolia. The flowers, fresh or dried, used along with an alum mordant, produce a bright yellow.
Walnut Tree Brown: Walnut is a branched tree with heights of up to 25 meters. The fruit is covered with a thick green rind, which along with the leaves, is often used by villagers for a green or blackish-brown dye. The walnut tree is native in Turkey and it provides the earthy colors required for Oriental rug and kilim weaving.
Pomegranate Tree: Yellow to brownish yellow and brown to black. The fresh or dried skin of the fruit is used for dyeing. If an alum mordant is used, the color provided will be a brownish shade. If an iron mordant is used, the dye will be a brownish-black shade. In Oriental rug weaving art the pomegranate is a symbol of fertility, because of it has many seeds.
Buckthorn Deep Yellow: This plant grows on slopes with altitude up to 3,000 meters (~9,800 feet). The unripe fruits, fresh or dried are used to create the dyes. When an alum mordant is used, a deep yellow will result that is mainly used for dyeing silk.
Some other natural dye sources include: oak bark, oregano leaves, green combination of weld and indigo, purple hollyhocks, black walnut, larkspur plant, henna leaves and flowers and saffron. Home | Site Map | Contact | Security & Privacy | Customer Service | FAQ's About Rugs
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