Persian Rug Repair
Persian Rugs > Persian Rug Services > Persian Rug Repair
This page was created to show an example of the major restorative work which can be carried out on Persian rugs. At Little-Persia we perform preventative and minor repairs (as well as cleaning) in-store such as repairing the selvages (the sides of the rug), small areas of re-knotting if there are small patches that can be repaired, and fringe-work where the fringe has worn away over time or been chewed by an animal. For more in-depth work where large areas of the rug has to be re-woven the only solution is to send the rug back to its place of origin to be repaired using the same wool and by the same weavers who made it. Below is a step-by-step case study of a large Nain rug, in Iran for repair, with updates as they happen(ed):
Stage of Repair:
1. Background
2. Damage
3. Preparation
4. Knotting
5. Shaving
6. Washing
7. Finished Rug
We recently sent a fine Nain rug back to Iran to be repaired. The rug had been rolled and placed in storage, unfortunately while being stored water from the ground got into the rug affecting a large area along the length of the border. Water and dampness which is a hand-knotted wool rug's worst enemy, completely destroyed much of the pile and foundation along one side leaving a large area where the wool was simply crumbling away. The only option for such a major project was to send it back to Nain where they are used to working with the design, wool and dye found it the rug.
Over the repair process, which will take around 8 months, we will be posting updates of the work as it is carried out. Major repair and restoration is not for everyone or every rug. The costs involved in sending a rug back and forth to Iran to be repaired on top of the lengthy and difficult re-weaving process is expensive and time-consuming. While rugs can often hold sentimental value, many simply aren't of a high enough standard for it to be worth-while repairing at source and could often be replaced at a similar cost. It's always best to speak to an expert before deciding what to do.
The rug in question was a large Nain rug, some of its warp strings being as low as 4 LAA. LAA is a measurement used for Nain rugs and is the number of fibres used to make up each warp string, or what you can see as the fringes at the top and bottom of a rug. 4 LAA rugs are the finest of Nain rugs, this means there are only 4 fibres of cotton spun to create each warp string, meaning more warp strings (as they are finer) across the width of the rug which in return allows more knots to be tied in the same area as thicker weft strings. The rug measures around 900 knots per square inch (KPSI). This means over one million knots will need to be tied whilst repairing the rug.
The damage was down the length of the rug (3.5m) affecting much of the border. The following pictures show the extent of the damage:
Here you can see the damage spread across the length of the rug down the entire border of one side.
This picture shows the damage that water can cause to a rug, the pile and foundation has rotted and is crumbling away.
The rug had to be un-woven around the damaged area. The pile was untied and removed from the weft (the horizontal strings of wool, cotton or silk, depending on the rug, used between the rows of knots keeping them tight and in position) until it was clear that the weft was healthy and had not been weakened by the dampness. Once this was done, the new weft was intricately tied to the existing healthy weft extending it to its original size. This process is shown below:
This is the start of the "re-wefting" process, sections are un-tied and cut away and the foundation is replaced.
A completed section of the rug where the carpet pile has been removed back until the healthy weft strands are visible.
The rug in the process of re-wefting where new weft is attached to the healthy existing foundation
Once the preparation work was complete our weaver had to search the bazaars of Nain to find as close a match as possible to the existing wool and colour of the carpet. There are 8 different colours used in the rug which had to be closely matched, these can be seen below:
The different shades of blue, ivory, green and burgundy.
With the wool used for the pile and foundation ready the rug was then attached to the loom in preparation for knotting:
The rug, attached to the loom, has thousands of warp strings added, these are the foundation that the knots are tied to.
Now that the preparation work of removing the damaged materials, re-wefting, purchasing the materials and attaching the rug to the loom has been completed, our weaver will begin the long and careful process of knotting the rug. Each row knotted, one knot at a time, carefully matching the pattern to that of the original rug:
The weaver starts from the bottom and ties one row at a time, at this stage the pattern is simple as each row is a solid colour.
This picture shows how the wool is pushed behind and wrapped round the warp before being knotted.
Repairing a rug is much more difficult than knotting it in the first place, this is due to a number of complication: the foundation has to be interwoven as most of the rug is already made, it would be the equivalent of taking a rug off a loom half way through knotting and then trying to re-attach it to start again. The materials used are more difficult to find as you want as close a match as possible to the original wool and dye colours. The design or pattern is also more difficult to achieve as the weaver is effectively trying to match up with someone else's design which takes careful measurement to get right.
The design from the opposite border is reversed to make a design plate for the weaver.
The front of the rug before it is sheared and shaved to the correct pile height.
The back of the rug shows the design more clearly, the bottom section of the border has been repaired closely matching the original.
The knotting of the rug at this stage is around a third of the way complete.
With only 40cm remaining to re-knot the rug will soon be shaved and washed.
The knotting at this stage his finally been completed.
Unfortunately we weren't able to get pictures of the rug as it was clipped to the correct pile-height. The process involves shearing the rug with clippers to an approximate height, in this case to match the same level of the existing rug, then using angled scissors to hand-finish the rug picking out any irregularities. This method ensures a level and smooth surface.
A rug being sheared with clippers before being hand-clipped.
Again the rug was washed before we were able to get pictures. The rug is soaked in soapy water, the benefit of cleaning in Iran is that there tends to be more sunlight, rugs are dried naturally rather than machinery being used which can often dry up a rug. Any stains are removed and the luster of the wool is restored. In this case the washing and drying process would have been more difficult as the weavers tried to ensure a perfect colour match to the existing pile.
The finished rug, after 8 months of careful and dedicated work looks brand new. This lengthy process has brought the rug back to life and even an expert would be hard pushed to spot the repair. With time and wear and a slight natural fading of the dyes and materials will make the repair impossible to detect, whereas just now it would only be possible if you were really looking for it close up.
The rug is finally repaired back to its former glory.
Close-up of the corner of the rug showing the detail and how well the pattern and colour has been matched.
The back of the rug shows the symmetry achieved in the repair,
such a delicate task could only be left to a master weaver.
