Welcome to Antique Tips

Traffic Patterns

Walking on rugs can wear out overtime through foot traffic patterns. It is best to place your antique rug in a less foot traffic and furniture movement area.

Protective Pads

Setting a protective pad underneath your rug is very helpful in keeping the beauty of your rug. Hair and jute pads should be fit to the exact size of your rug. Be aware of the thinner vulcanized rubber pads, some may decompose and contain sulfur, which can damage older fragile rugs.

Pile

Pile means the same as knap. A rugs surface, formed through the creation of knots in the warp and weft.

Flatwoven

The technique used to make any carpet not manufactured with the knotted pile technique.

Handle

The weight, solidity and flexibility of a rug. Adjectives to describe a rug´s handle include; stiff, flexible, and supple.

Knap

A rug´s surface, formed through the creation of knots in the warp and weft. Also known as "pile".

Weft

The widthwise or horizontal structural elements of a rug, passed over and under the warps to form pile rugs basic structure or foundation and flat woven rugs design.

Warp

The lengthwise or vertical structural elements upon which a rug is woven by the addition of weft and pile.

Prevent Dry Rot

To prevent dry rot, keep your antique rugs away from water sources; plants, sinks, bathrooms or entryways. Moisture over time will cause a general wearing away of fibers. Insects will also be attracted to moisture and food crumbs that can lodge in your rug.

Damaged Rugs

For badly damaged rugs, have your rugs profesionally repaired. Prices will vary according to damage. Try to get a written flat price estimate beforehand.

Reweaving

A technique of adding new sections of carpet: warps, wefts and pile.

Abrash

Variations in color, seen in pile rugs as subtle horizontal bands that indicate traditional dyeing practices whereby wool is dyed in small lots.

Knot

A unit of design and stucture in a pile carpet, consisting of a piece of colored wool yarn usually wrapped around two warps. It produces a colored tuft of wool on the front surface of the carpet that forms the pile or knap.

Dry Rot

A fungus that can grow in conditions of heat and moisture, breaking down the cellulose in rug fibers.

Repiling

A technique of adding new knots to the structure of a carpet in order to replace or repair sections of the pile.

Cleaning

Vacuum rugs regularly on both sides with the suction portion of your vacuum only. You should also clean with water and mild shampoo [neutral PH]. Be sure to clean up spills and dirt right away before it has time to set in and penetrate rug fibers.

For larger rugs, have professionally cleaned. Large, wet rugs will weigh over 100 pounds, making it very difficult to clean and move around.

Overcasting

The stitching on the edges of a carpet that prevent the fabric from unraveling.

Brocading

General term for various techniques used in flat woven rugs of the soumac, zileh or jajim type, in which colorful supplementary wefts are woven on top of the basic structure of warp and weft.

Selvage

The finished, lengthwise edges of a rug, consisting of one or more warps wrapped with wefts or with added colored wool yarns.