Wool, cotton, silk… If you have been researching handmade rugs at all, you have found that these are the basic materials that are combined using art and industry to create one of the world’s oldest and most famous floor coverings.  The fiber that receives the most recognition for the durability of oriental rugs is wool, and the most famous of all wools is New Zealand wool.

So what’s the big deal about New Zealand wool anyway?  Is one wool really that much better than the other?  Well, it depends on who you ask, and what you plan on doing with the wool.

For oriental rug production, it really depends on what type of production you are working with and where you are.  Finer wools are softer, shinier, and have a thinner gauged thread.  Finer wools are also more expensive and require the ability to import them from other countries.  If you are producing a nubby textured, hand-spun wool piece, finer wool may not be worth the extra expense.  The nubby texture would essentially nullify the finer properties of a higher grade wool.  And if you are working with tribal rugs… importing fine wool from New Zealand or Australia is out of the question.

For your finer knotted “city” style rugs, though, high-grade wool is not only desirable, but can actually make production and maintenance of the rug easier.  Essentially, better wool is stronger, longer, thinner, shinier, softer, and whiter.   This allows you to make a finer, smaller knot.

Here is what earns New Zealand and Australian wool high grades.  The quality of wool is graded by the following main factors: fiber diameter, color (whiteness), strength, crimp, and yield.  The fiber diameter if the most important factor in determining both quality and price. (This is measured in terms of microns.)

Both New Zealand and Australian wools consistently score the highest among major rug producing nations.  And New Zealand wool is touted as the whitest, allowing for a broader range of color after dyeing.  Their finest wools are known as 1PP, which is the industry standard of excellence for Merino wool that is 16.9 microns and finer.  You normally hear more about the New Zealand wools because the have embarked upon a major marketing campaign touting their product as the finest.  Just google it.  You will find a beautiful website devoted to the cause.  They even put the wool emblem on their National Soccer Team’s jerseys!

Another reason that New Zealand’s wool takes the spotlight is because of the private market.  While Australia is the world’s largest producer of wool (roughly 25% of total production), 85% of that production is sold at open auction.  New Zealand only produces 11% of the world yield, but almost 50% of that is sold by the farmer directly to private buyers and the end user.

Still don’t think wool is a big deal?  The finest bale of wool ever to be publicly auctioned sold for a seasonal record of $2700 per kilo in June of 2008.  The wool measured 11.6 microns and was very strong (we’ll spare you the Newton measurements).  The total price of the bale was over $247,000.00.  It was exported to India.  You’ll never guess where we get almost half of our rugs…

Jaipur Rug Co's Provenance Collection

While you were watching NFL Playoffs this weekend (or attempting to avoid them) we were hard at work bringing in the newest and best oriental rugs that the world has to offer.  The International Area Rug Market was held this January and Lexington Oriental Rugs was excited to make the trip (read: like a bunch of kids in a candy store.)

There were, of course, the usual traditional oriental rugs to be found at this market, but that is not why we brave the perils of I-75… we go to see what is going to be the surprising hit for the following year.

This market brought two introductions that we definitely would not have predicted a year ago.  The traditional Ikat design made a huge splash at the market, with nearly every manufacturer showcasing their version of the ancient design.  And a new combination of patchwork rug samples with heavy over-dyed color also made a strong showing.

Ikat is a nearly universal weaving style that is very common to many world cultures.  The distinctive pattern originally was created by a textile dyeing process that is similar to tie-dye.  Bindings, which resist dye penetration, are applied to the threads in the desired patterns and the threads are dyed. Alteration of the bindings and the dyeing of more than one color produce elaborate, multicolored patterns. When all of the dyeing is finished the bindings are removed and the threads are ready to be woven into cloth.  The defining characteristic of ikat is the dyeing of patterns, by means of bindings, into the threads before cloth construction, the weaving of the fabric, takes place. Herein lies the difference between ikat and tie-dye. In tie-dye the fabric is woven first and the resist bindings are then applied to the fabric which is dyed. 

Kalaty Rug Corp's Heritage Ikat

Most of the rugs that were presented at market simply recreated the ikat patterns, but utilized traditional oriental rug weaving technique.  Will this pattern be the smash hit that the manufacturers predict?  Only time will tell.

We must admit that the introduction of the patchwork rugs was a bit of a surprise to us.  You can find original patchwork rugs in the marketplace, but these were created due to a lack of materials or funds, not as a fashionable statement.  Frankly, the construction process for creating patchwork rugs with anything other than remnants is not usually cost effective.

Nonetheless, the patchwork rug has mark a mark on the interior design community and the oriental rug world will follow suit.  These rugs were wither woven with a simple patchwork pattern and then stitched to keep the illusion, or were actual pieces of rugs of samples that were bound and stitched together.  After the construction is complete, the entire rug is heavily over-dyed to retain an older looking, heavy color.

Again, the fate of this style is up to you.  What do you think of these two styles?  We would really love your feedback on this issue.

We often hear that choosing an oriental rug is hard because of the difficulty in mixing existing patterns and colors in the home with traditional oriental rug patterns.  Mixing patterns can also be complicated by intermixing different styles.

Sticking to these general rules in choosing patterns can ease the confusion and make finding the right oriental rug much easier.

1. Pick a starting print or prints.  Before beginning your oriental rug search, you must decide what items in the room are staying, and which items you are willing to part with or change.  Usually, large furniture fixtures will stay, but paint colors, throw pillows, and accessories are usually inexpensive enough to change.

2. Limit your color palette.   If you have significant investments that involve specific colors, do your best to work around them.  But if you can possibly part with any of the items that may limits your color choices… get rid of them.  Ideally, you would want to start your shopping with a blank canvass so as not to limit your choices.  Make sure that you bring any color swatches with you when you begin your rug search.

3. Vary the style.   You may be surprised how well you will like a combination of colors and patterns when you step outside of your comfort zone.  We have a professional design staff that makes an art of out of mixing florals, stripes, geometrics, and textures together.  The idea is not to have too much of any one type of pattern.  Also, don’t be afraid to mix modern and contemporary patterns with traditional rugs.  We see a lot of modern and traditional rooms utilizing traditional and antique rugs to create a look that will never really go out of style.
4. Vary the size of the pattern.  Have you ever walked into a room and felt overwhelmed by the patterns?  Usually it is because the decorator used too much pattern of the same scale.  Avoid this problem by using patterns of various scales and breaking them up with solids or texturals.

Most reputable oriental rug stores will have an interior designer on-staff to help you find the perfect rug to work with your existing décor.  Just make sure that you take them as many tools as you can such as fabric samples, color swatches, or even pictures of the room.  If you follow these rules, finding the perfect rug should not be a difficult challenge.

Are you tired?  We are.  Why, you ask?  We’ve been packing and shipping a lot of rugs around the globe.  Sound crazy, we know, but this little thing called the internet has become pretty popular.

Transporting or storing large rugs is no easy task.  We have been folding, rolling, and packing rugs for almost 20 years now, so we have learned a few tricks along the way.  If they ever make rug rolling an olympic sport, we promise to bring home a gold medal.  So if you need to roll or fold rugs for transport or storage, here are some tips for making your rugs travel sized.

A few caveats before you begin.  Before folding or creasing your rug, make sure that doing so will not damage the rug.  Some tufted rugs or super dense hand-knotted rugs can be damaged if creased.  Some lower-grade machine made rugs can be creased permanently.  And if you ever hear any popping or cracking when you are folding your rugs- STOP.

If you have enough room or manpower, or if your rug refuses to be folded, you can simply roll your rug.  Start by rolling from the short end of the rug so that the length of the roll is as short as possible.  If you need something to keep the roll ridged while you are moving it, try rolling the rug with a cardboard tube inside.

Assuming that your rug can be folded, it is often beneficial to fold your rug before rolling it.  This will save space and will also make the rug easier to move.  

For room size rugs such as 8x10s and 9x12s, the single fold method is easiest.  Start by folding the rug in half down the length of the rug.  Next, fold in one end of the rug.  (This will help to keep the rug straight while you are rolling it.  In some cases, you can fold in both ends of the rug to protect the fringe.)  Now from the folded end, begin rolling the rug, keeping the roll tight, but not so tight as to pop any warp or weft strings.  Once the rug is rolled, secure it with a couple of ropes tied with a slip knot.

For rugs larger that 9×12, it is sometime impractical to use a single fold method.  If you need to make the rug more compact, start by folding down the length of the rug into thirds.  Now fold in one end and then roll using the same method as before.  Again, use a couple of ropes to secure the roll and keep it tight.