Materials
Oriental carpets
use the natural fibres such as wool, cotton and silk. Only exception to this
rule is the occasional use of gold and silver or other threads used for pure
silk and workshops carpets. In addition to wool, cotton and silk, goat and
camel hair also used for the carpets and kilims.
Wool
The wool which is
soft, durable and easy to work is the most widely used rug making material.
Good wool should have the softness with strenght. Best wool comes from the
lambs between 8 and 14 months and living in colder highlands. But sometimes,
as also the name of the carpet might indicate the wool comes from the flanks
and shoulders of the lamb where the fibre is longest.
Process of wool
First the wool is
washed and carded, a process which teases the wool into longer and straighter
fibres. Then fibres are hand spun into a continuous thread which is twisted
with other threats, in the opposite direction that they were spun, to form the
yarn.
Cotton
Cotton which is
one of the main agricultural products of Turkey is used as a foundation
material on the wool&cotton carpets. As a foundation material, it has some
advantages It is strong, doesn't lose its shape and can be spun into very fine
yarn which helps weavers to obtain very fine weaving.
In Kayseri, a
central Anatolan town in Turkey, mercerised wool which is called art wool is
used for weaving.
Silk
Silk which was
produced only by Chines was introduced to Byzantine Empire in the 6t century.
Two monks from Byzantine land went to Chine and managed to smuggle the secret
of the silk. Starting from those years, the silk started to be produced in
Byzantine Empire and became inevitable material for the royalty.
Silk was produced
by the larva of silkworm. It has been cultivated successfully in number of
countries including Iran, Turkey, India and Soviet Union.
Finest silk for
rug making comes from the Caspian Sea area.
In carpet weaving,
silk is mainly used alone. In some rare case, it is used with wool. Silk is
also used as foundation material.
As a material,
silk has some limitations. First of all, the silk is reasonably hard wearing.
It retain the creases or scuffing and far greater care is needed to protect
them from the damages. But physical beauty of the silk is unsurpassed and silk
rugs are used as decorative pieces rather them functional pieces.
