Persian carpets are created through a traditional process that involves dyeing wool, setting up looms, and intricate weaving and knotting. Various natural ingredients are used to dye the wool vibrant colors before it is spun. Weavers then use either vertical or ground looms to intricately knot the dyed wool according to a pattern, with skills passed down through generations. After the knotting is complete, the carpet is trimmed, washed, and dried to produce a finished carpet steeped in history and ready for homes.

1. Presents
“A World of Difference”

2. Creating the Persian
Carpet
A process steeped in history and
tradition

3. First we need dyed wool

4. The Wool is spun
Afghan man spinning wool

5. Traditional spinning methods still
hold today
Qashqai tribal women spinning wool

6. Making the Dyes
There are many types of ingredients for making dyes……..

7. Flowers
Indigo
Saffron
Chamomille

8. Roots and Tubers
Turmeric
Madder Root
Beets

9. Fungi and Lichens
Lichen
Coral Fungus

10. Berries and Nuts
Pomegranate
Buckthorn
Walnut

11. Even Insects
Cochineal
Kermes

12. …And then you get this

13. Dying today, is still done by
traditional methods
Checking to see if the wool is ready Dyeing vats and Dyed wool
drying

14. Once the wool is dyed and dried
It is then ready to be made into a

15. Next we need to make a loom
Typical vertical Loom
Typical ground loom

16. Vertical Looms
Vertical looms are generally more
permanent structures. They are
used to make rugs of a finer
weave.

17. Ground looms are less permanent. They are primarily used
by tribal peoples, and are designed to be packed away and
moved, even with a carpet half finished still on the loom.
Ground looms

18. Then we weave the carpet

19. The skills of weaving are passed
from generation to generation

20. Weaving is very much a
communal effort

21. Weavers working on a ground loom
The weavers will sometimes sing
a song to help everyone maintain
the correct knot counts.

22. The carpet pattern is drawn first…
…usually on graph
paper
so the weavers know
how
many knots of each
colour
they need to do.

23. For longer rugs…
The carpet can be rolled onto the lower beam

24. On full size looms
Benches are moved up, as the
pile is created, so the weaver
can remain in as comfortable a
position as possible.

25. The knot
Two types of knots are used in the
creation of a Persian carpet; the Turkish
(Ghiordian) and the Persian (Senneh)
knot.

26. The Tools

27. Weaver at work

28. Anatomy of a rug

29. After the knotting is completed
It needs to be trimmed

30. …and then washed

31. And finally dried

32. Then we have a completed carpet

33. Ready for market and….

34. Ready for your home

35. The
End
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