Tag: secret language of area rugs

The Secret Language of Area Rugs

Posted on by D F

To the untrained shopper, one area rug is like all of the rest. But there is actually a lot to area rugs that the average consumer doesn’t realize. Like, for instance, that there is virtually an area rug glossary, full of terms used to describe the intricacies of the beautiful carpets. Really! There are so many terms describing the aspects of area rugs, and here are a few that you probably don’t already know:

-Abrash: A change or variation in the color of a rug die to the difference in the wool or dye bath. The effect is subtle shading differences, and in older and antique rugs, abrash occurs naturally as a part of the aging process. In new rugs that are designed to look vintage, the abrash effect is created by changing the color of the yarns.

-Overtuft: This term refers to the tufting process done by hand or mechanically in which an already tufted rug has another yarn system tufted through the back of the fabric to develop a pattern on the surface.

-Hand: Tactile qualities of a fabric that includes softness, stiffness, texture, etc.

More Area Rugs Terms

Posted on by D F

Taking with last week’s theme of area rugs terminology, we’ve found a few more interesting terms specifically regarding the materials and fibers used in the construction of area rugs. By educating yourself on the intricacies of area rugs, you can be a more aware consumer, and end up purchasing the perfect rugs.

Acrylic: This is a man-made fiber with a wool-like appearance. It doesn’t dye as well as nylon, and is said to be slightly less durable.

BCF: This stands for bulked continuous filament. Filament yarns are processed by mechanical methods to fluff them out before the weaving process commences.

Continuous Filament: This refers to nylon or polypropelene yarn made in one long strand that can be woven without further processing.

Polypropelene: synthetic fiber that gets a pigment added to it. It is used specifically in machine made rugs.

Polyester: This synthetic fiber is most often used in staple spun yarns.

Solution Dyed: This way of dying synthetic fiber is special because the pigment is added to the polypropelene/nylon chip before it’s extruded as a filament yarn.

Worsted: Refers to an extra step in wool processing that combs out shorter fibers. It produces durable and lustrous yarns.

Space Dyed: Yarn colored in sections of different colors before being tufted or woven into a rug.