Needlepoint rugs are a flat weave style of carpet -- But how are these rugs made?

Needlepoint rugs are a flat weave style of carpet. They are made by sewing thousands of stitches onto a large piece of cloth. Often these stitches are made to follow a pattern or design that has been chosen by the rug maker. A skilled needlepointer will use many different colors and a vast range of stitches during the rug making process and this will help him to achieve the particular look he has chosen.

The history of needlepointing can be traced back as far as the ancient egyptions, around three thousand years ago, where the fine needlepoint stitches were used to decorate their clothing. More recently needlepointing has been adopted by the rug maker to produce high quality tapestry style rugs. One of the best example of this are the fabulous aubusson rugs of france.

The process used when making a needlepoint carpet starts with an image of the pattern or design for the rug. This image is applied to the canvas, also known as a scrim, that the carpet will be based on. This makes it easy for the needlepointer to apply the correct colored stitches throughout the rug making process (a process can easily take many weeks to complete). Once the needlepointing is finished a cloth is normally applied to the back of the rug to tidy up any untidy threads and stitches, however, some high quality needlepointers pride themselves on keeping the back of their rugs so tidy, their rugs are true reversible.

When choosing needlepoint wool area rugs for your home you should always ask yourself the following questions: Does the design feel authentic? Has the rug maker been inventive in his use of color? Is the rug handmade from 100% pure wool? Does the rug incorporate a backing cloth? Will I need to use a rug pad to prevent the rug from sliding? And finally, does the price seem fair for the rug you have chosen?

April 30th, 2005

By: Paul Goodwin
Website: http://www.a-to-z-of-rugs.com

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