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Pile Weave
Pile weave or knotted weave refers to the method of weaving used in most rugs. In this technique the rug is woven by creation of knots. A short piece of yarn is tied around two neighboring warp strands creating a knot on the surface of the rug. After each row of knots is created, one or more strands of weft are passed through a complete set of warp strands. Then the knots and the weft strands are beaten with a comb securing the knots in place. Even though all pile rugs are woven with knots, different weaving groups use different types of knots. The weaving process begins at the bottom of the loom and moves upward as the horizontal rows of knots and wefts are added.
Turkish Knot
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Persian Knot
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Tibetan Knot
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Every single knot is tied by hand. A rug can consist of 25 to over 1000 knots per square inch. A skillful weaver is able to tie a knot in about ten seconds, meaning 6 knots per minute or 360 knots per hour. That means it would take a skillful weaver 6480 hours to weave a 9x12-foot rug with a density of 150 knots per square inch. If we divide this number by 8-hour working days, that means it would take one weaver 810 days (approximately two and a half years) to weave such a rug. A rug as large as a 9x12 is usually woven in a workshop or master workshop setting by two or three weavers, so the above time can be reduced by half or third. Imagine if the knot density is even higher! Handmade rugs are functional and exceptional works of art created with great patience.
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