The Rug Library

In talim-based workshops the coded pattern is traditionally read or chanted aloud so that several weavers on one loom can tie their knots in the same sequence.

The two principal pile knots are the symmetric (Turkish or Ghiordes) knot and the asymmetric (Persian or Senneh) knot; the asymmetric knot is widely used in carpets from Iran, India and Pakistan.

In the symmetric Ghiordes knot the yarn passes over two adjacent warps and both ends are brought up between them to form the pile.

The symmetric knot is the knot found in the Pazyryk carpet, the oldest surviving pile carpet, recovered from a burial mound in the Altai region of Siberia.

The asymmetric knot encircles one warp and passes only behind the next, and because it packs closely it suits fine carpets with detailed, curving designs.

A jufti or 'false' knot is tied around four warps instead of two, halving the knot count and weaving time but producing a coarser, less durable pile.

Handmade Carpet of Bhadohi was registered as a Geographical Indication in 2010, covering hand-knotted and other handmade carpets from the Bhadohi belt of Uttar Pradesh.

In hand-knotting, yarns of wool, silk or cotton are tied around pairs of vertical warps, each row is secured with weft, and the rows are compacted with a comb beater.

In Tibetan-style knotting, yarn is looped around warps and over a metal gauge rod; when a row is complete a knife is drawn along the rod's groove to cut the loops into pile.