Flat Woven Rugs

We have already established the fact that floor rugs can be either machine woven or hand woven. Among the hand woven rugs that you would probably have heard or know about are the hand knotted rugs and the hand tufted rugs. Now you can add to that list of hand woven rugs the flat woven rugs.

Flat woven as the name implies uses a technique called the flat weave. The flat weave is a hand woven rug made without the use of any knots. How is this rug made? Similar to other hand woven rugs, it begins with a foundation. This foundation is made out of the warp strands or the strands that run along the length of the rug. The weft or strands that run along the width of the rug now acts as a foundation as well as for giving the rug its designs and pattern.

If the rug is not made with knots, how do you get the design? Well, in flat woven rugs, the designs and patterns are made up of all the weft threads that have been woven or passed through all the warp strands. This means that the weft is tightly intertwined with the warp creating both the foundation and the designs at the same time. So this rug does not have an actual pile. Flat weave is a method used when weaving kilims, soumaks and brocades. Since there is an absence of knots on the rug, the whole rug surface is flat, and the design of the rug can be seen on the underside as well.

Kilim is one type of flat weave. How are kilims woven? In all flat woven rugs you will see that the weft strands are responsible for creating the colorful patterns of the rug. In a kilim you will see how the weft strands of the rug are discontinuously woven. This means that a weft strand is not woven continuously from one end of the rug to the other end. Instead the weft strands are woven or passed through several warp strands and then looped back when a new colored weft is needed for the design. Compared to pile woven rugs, this method takes a much shorter time to complete.

Another flat weaving method that has been passed down for many generations is the soumak. For the soumak, the weft strands are passed over several strands of warp threads, usually two or four, and then are pulled back under one or two warp threads.

And the other type of flat weave is the brocade. Using the brocade method means weaving onto a rug foundation. This means that you have your regular warp strands and your weft strands that make up the foundation of the rug, as well as additional weft strands to create the designs on the rug. These additional weft strands are woven either continuously or discontinuously form one end of the rug to the other.

Flat woven rugs continue to be quite a popular choice among many homeowners of today as they are very affordable and can be used almost anywhere in the home. They are also lightweight and reversible. You can find them in a great range of designs, patterns as well as color combinations. The flat woven rugs can also be found in a range of materials, from natural fibers to synthetic materials. Thanks to all these great available options, you can use the flat woven rugs in your home both indoors and outdoors.