An oriental rug is a heavy textile made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes and produced in Oriental countries for home use. Oriental carpets can be pile woven or flat woven without pile, using various materials such as silk, wool, and cotton. Examples range in size from pillow to large, room-sized carpets, and include carrier bags and floor coverings. Since the High Middle Ages, oriental rugs have been an integral part of their cultures of origin, as well as of the European and, later on, the North American culture. Geographically, oriental rugs are made in an area referred to as the “Rug Belt”, which stretches from Morocco across North Africa, the Middle East, and into Central Asia and northern India.
The beginning of carpet weaving remains unknown, as carpets are subject to use, deterioration, and destruction by insects and rodents. There is little archaeological evidence to support any theory about the origin of the pile-woven carpet. The earliest surviving carpet fragments are spread over a wide geographic area, and a long time span. Woven rugs probably developed from earlier floor coverings, made of felt, or a technique known as “extra-weft wrapping”. Flat-woven rugs are made by tightly interweaving the warp and weft strands of the weave to produce a flat surface with no pile. The technique of weaving carpets further developed into a technique known as extra-weft wrapping weaving, a technique which produces soumak, and loop woven textiles.
Loop weaving is done by pulling the weft strings over a gauge rod, creating loops of thread facing the weaver. The rod is then either removed, leaving the loops closed, or the loops are cut over the protecting rod, resulting in a rug very similar to a genuine pile rug. Typically, hand-woven pile rugs are produced by knotting strings of thread individually into the warps, cutting the thread after each single knot. The fabric is then further stabilized by weaving in one or more strings of weft, and compacted by beating with a comb

We can travel up to 40 miles from Cheltenham to collect your rug for repair or cleaning. The easiest way to find out more is to send us a message on Whatsapp 07490386502 and we'll reply within 4 hours

You can also post your rug to our workshop. Once we receive it we'll get in touch with a quote, agree on a quote, do the work, send you some before and after images/video and re-post the rug to your adress. Please get in touch via email or Whatsapp (07490386502) and we'll reply within 4 hours