Oriental carpets: carpet edges

If the knots were taken to the very edge of the carpet the sides would curl under and it wouldn't lie flat. To prevent that from happening, the end warp threads have no knots on them.

When this carpet was taken from the loom a needle and thread were used to oversew the sides to create a flat and very firm edge.  A different method was used to secure the edge of this carpet. Instead of it being oversewn once it had been cut from the loom a red woollen thread has been looped around the unknotted warp threads along the side during the weaving process.

If we turn the carpet over we can see that the red wool which loops around the unknotted warp threads along the side is actually woven into the body of the carpet and this makes an incredibly strong edge.

Most oriental carpets have a band of plain weaving at the top and the bottom. In this carpet it’s quite a broad band and several colours have been used to create a pattern.

These bands of plain weaving create a very firm and very stable edge to the carpet. When this carpet was cut from the loom, lengths of warp thread remained. These have been grouped together and knotted to form a fringe.  It creates both a decorative effect and it also stops the weaving from unravelling.