What are hand-knotted rugs made of?
A hand-knotted rug is pile yarn tied onto a foundation of warp and weft. The pile is what you see and walk on. We use natural materials: Himalayan wool, New Zealand wool including AAA New Zealand Merino, natural silk, nettle, hemp and yak hair, alone or blended. There is no glue and no backing fabric anywhere in the construction.
Do rug makers use real wool in hand-knotted rugs?
Reputable ones do, and we do. The question is worth asking because the word "wool" appears on a great many labels that describe a wool-look synthetic, or a rug with a thin wool face over a synthetic body. In a hand-knotted rug there is no body to hide anything in. Every knot is the same yarn all the way through, so what the label names is what the rug is.
How do natural and synthetic fibers behave differently?
They behave differently in the hand and over time, which is usually enough to tell them apart without any test.
Wool has a slight natural oiliness, a matte and slightly irregular surface, and it springs back after you press it. It takes dye into the fiber, so color reads with depth rather than sitting on the surface. Natural silk is fine and strong, and its luster shifts as you move around it rather than flashing evenly from every angle.
Manufactured fibers tend to feel slick and uniformly smooth, hold an even high sheen from every angle, and stay crushed where a foot or a chair leg has been. Many of them weaken considerably when wet. Leave the rug itself intact: ask the seller what the fiber is, ask for it in writing, and judge the rug by how it feels and how it wears.
What is Himalayan wool and why is it used for rugs?
Himalayan wool, also called Tibetan wool, comes from sheep raised at high altitude. That environment produces a longer, coarser fiber with a higher lanolin content than lowland wool. Lanolin is a natural oil, and it does three useful things: it makes the wool naturally water-resistant, it makes it resilient so the pile springs back rather than crushing flat, and it helps the fiber take dye and hold it.
The long staple is the other half of the story. Longer fibers can be spun into a yarn that sheds less and abrades more slowly, which is why highland wool wears the way it does under traffic.
Is New Zealand wool better than Himalayan wool for rugs?
Neither is better. They are different fibers chosen for different results.
| Fiber | Character | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Himalayan wool | Long staple, high lanolin, slightly coarse hand | Durability, texture, rugs that will take traffic for decades | Less white than New Zealand wool, so the palest colors read warmer |
| New Zealand wool, including AAA New Zealand Merino | Fine, soft, notably white in its natural state | Clean, bright and pale colors; a softer hand underfoot | Softer fiber, so a very high-traffic room may show wear sooner |
| Natural silk | Fine, strong, high luster that shifts with the light | Highlights, carved detail, small areas of drawn detail | Shows footprints and water marks; the costliest fiber we weave |
| Nettle (allo) | Coarse, matte, strong, slightly irregular | Texture, natural and undyed palettes, flatweave-like ground | A rustic hand rather than a plush one |
| Hemp | Strong, matte, cool to the touch, holds a crisp line | Grounds, borders and textural contrast against wool | Firmer underfoot than wool |
| Yak hair | Strong and lustrous, with deep natural tones | Depth in dark palettes, texture, contrast with wool | A limited natural color range |
Most of our rugs are wool, and many pair a wool ground with silk in the areas of the drawing that should catch light. A wool-and-silk blend takes the durability of wool and the luster of silk, which is why it is a common choice for rooms in daily use.
What is bamboo silk and is it real silk?
It is not silk. "Bamboo silk", "art silk" and "banana silk" are trade names for a manufactured fiber made by dissolving plant cellulose and extruding it as filament. It looks like silk under a light and does not behave like it: it loses most of its strength when wet, so water or a cleaning attempt can leave a permanent dull patch, and it flattens under traffic.
We do not weave bamboo silk or any other artificial silk. We use natural materials. When a rug of ours contains silk, the material is natural silk and the label says silk. Anyone selling you "bamboo silk" is selling you a manufactured fiber, and the price should reflect that.
What is a nettle fiber rug?
Nettle, known in Nepal as allo, is a bast fiber stripped from the stems of the Himalayan giant nettle, then processed and spun. It is strong, matte and slightly irregular, and it takes natural and undyed palettes well. In a rug it reads as texture: a nettle ground next to a wool pile gives contrast you cannot get from color alone. It is a local fiber to the region we weave in, which is one reason it is on our list. Hemp behaves similarly and holds a crisper line, and yak hair brings depth to a dark palette.
How is the material chosen for a rug?
The fiber and the construction are selected for each commission. A rug for a hallway is specified differently from a rug for a bedroom, and a design with fine drawn detail is specified differently from one built on texture and scale. What is being decided is the fiber or blend, the knot count, the pile height and the palette, and those four decisions are made together because each one changes what the others can do.
Color is then settled physically rather than on a screen, through yarn poms and a color-matched sample, which is described on how a custom rug is made.
Natural vs synthetic rugs: which is better in a home?
A hand-knotted rug in natural fiber contains no adhesive and no synthetic backing. A tufted rug depends on both, and that construction difference is set out on hand-knotted vs hand-tufted.
Natural fibers also work as a filter. They absorb and trap pollen, dust, dirt and allergens and hold them until the next vacuuming, which takes those particles out of the air. Wool and silk are biodegradable at the end of a long life, where a synthetic or tufted rug generally is not.
Is a wool and silk blend rug worth it?
It is worth it when the design needs the contrast. Silk against wool reads as a change in light rather than a change in color, and that is an effect no single fiber gives you. It also costs more, and silk shows footprints and needs more care. If your rug is going in a hallway, put the money into density instead. See what a hand-knotted rug costs for how fiber moves the price.
FAQ
Which materials do you weave in?
Himalayan wool, New Zealand wool including AAA New Zealand Merino, natural silk, nettle, hemp and yak hair, alone or blended.
Do you use bamboo silk?
No. We do not weave bamboo silk or any other artificial silk. We use natural materials, and silk means natural silk.
Is wool or silk better for a living room?
Wool, for a living room in daily use. Silk is best used as an accent within a wool rug rather than as the whole pile.
Do wool rugs shed?
New wool rugs shed loose fiber left over from spinning and shearing, and it settles down with regular vacuuming. See caring for a hand-knotted rug.
Is there anything synthetic in your rugs?
No. There is no glue, no synthetic backing and no synthetic fiber in the construction.
Can I choose the material for a bespoke rug?
Yes. Fiber, knot count, pile height and palette are all specified before weaving begins, and we recommend a combination for the design and the room.
Browse the collections to see materials in use, or email info@weaverandloom.co with a question about a specific rug.