Turkish Carpets

Turkish carpets come in many distinct styles from the many different regions of Turkey. Important differences between the types include the materials, construction, colors and patterns.

Carpets, whether knotted or flat woven are among the best known art forms produced by the Turks from the earliest days. There are many environmental, sociological, economic, and religious reasons for the widespread art of carpet weaving among the Turkish people from Central Asia to Turkey.

The carpets are always hand made of wool or sometimes cotton, some with the addition of silks. These carpets provide a natural barrier against the cold. The flat woven kilims which are frequently embroidered are used as blankets, curtains, and covers over sofas or as cushion covers.

Even technological advances which promoted factory made carpets could not hamper the production of rug weaving by local tribes people.

Turkish carpets are among the most sought after household items all over the world. Their vibrant colors, tones, and patterns with traditional motifs have all added to the status that Turkish carpets have enjoyed since the 13th century. The explorer Marco Polo, who traveled through Anatolia in the late 13th century, commented on the beauty and artistry of the carpets.

Wool on wool carpets are generally the least expensive type of carpet, but often the most "authentic". Wool on wool carpets have been made much longer and use more traditional designs than the other types of carpets. Because wool cannot be spun finely, the knot count is often not very high, compared to wool on cotton and silk on silk. High knot count is also not necessary for wool on wool carpets because they are often traditional geometric designs, or otherwise non-intricate patterns.

Wool on cotton, a wool pile on cotton warps and wefts carpet can be much more intricate than wool on wool carpets because cotton can be spun finely and the knot count is generally much higher. In wool on cotton rugs, floral designs etc. are also found, in addition to the geometric patterns.

Silk on silk carpets are the most intricate type of carpet with very fine weave. Knot count for silk carpets can be anything from 10 to 28 per square centimeter. These very fine, intricately woven carpets are usually no larger than 3m X 3m and are stunningly beautiful.

Carpets can be made with natural or chemical dyes. With wool/wool and wool/cotton carpets, although synthetic dyes have been in use for the last 150 years, natural dyes are preferable because they do not bleed when it gets wet and when you wash the carpet.

There are a couple tests that you can do on the carpet to test whether they use chemical or natural dyes. The first is to have a fairly damp white cloth and rub it against the carpet. If the color is a natural dye then only fibers will come out, while if chemical dyes are used, color will actually bleed into the whiteness of the cloth, as well as little pieces of wool coming off.

Another way to tell if a carpet is natural or chemical dyes, is how it fades. This is especially noticeable if the carpet has been out in the sun for any extended periods of time. You open up the carpet to see the bottom of the thread, often by bending the carpet in half, or just opening it up with your fingers. If the thread near the bottom of the knot is a different shade of color than the top of the thread, it is a chemical dye.

The wool employed in each carpet is also important regarding whether it is dead or live wool. Dead wool is cut after the sheep has died, and the wool is harsh and rough because it has lost its natural oils. Live wool is sheared when the sheep is alive, and retains the natural oils. Most Turkish Carpets are made of live wool because it is finer and not as rough.

Wool/wool carpets can either be machine or hand spun. Machine spun wool tends to be tighter spun than handspun, which is not necessarily a good thing because its much tighter, and wool is not very strong, many of the wool fibres snap while being woven, which limits the lifetime of the carpet. Handspun increases the hours of labor and the price accordingly, but it is not spun as tightly as machine spun so the lifetime of the carpet is longer.

To tell whether your rug is handspun or machine spun, flip the carpet over and look at the weave. If all the little squares are exactly the same size, then its machine spun. If there are size differences in the squares then it is handspun.