The Rug Library

Launch of QR-code GI labelling for Kashmiri carpets was expected to support an export trade then estimated at about US$40 million and benefit some 54,000 artisans registered with the Kashmir handicrafts department.

Kashmir’s local press reported in March 2022 that carpet exports picked up after the launch of QR-code GI tagging.

Jaipur Rugs, which began with two looms in 1978, reportedly exports to more than 60 countries while working with artisans in hundreds of villages across several Indian states.

Panipat is reported to account for a large share of India’s exports of hand-tufted carpets and higher-end durries—around three-quarters, by one newspaper estimate.

Recent reporting describes Kashmir’s hand-knotted carpet industry, once a leading export craft of the valley, as being in decline.

Stretching a finished carpet on a frame brings it to its specified size and straightens edges that would otherwise curve.

Binding secures a carpet's edges against fraying; some workshops cut off the loom-made edge and re-bind it by hand for a stronger, more decorative finish.

A rug's fringe is formed by gathering and knotting bundles of warp ends at each end after the rug is cut from the loom.

The selvedges are the outermost warps along a rug's long sides, usually overcast with yarn to form a firm edge.

Binding along a carpet's length usually follows a standard structural style, while binding along the width can take a range of decorative patterns.

Finishing a hand-knotted rug typically includes quality checks, shaving the pile, repairs, washing, stretching, carving and binding the edges.

On a roller-beam loom, Indian weavers typically begin and end a carpet with a woven band of plain cloth, onto which the end knots are secured.

Stretching a washed rug on a frame helps it keep its shape and size and reduces the risk of shrinkage as it dries.

Namdas are decorated either with embroidery, often in Kashmiri aari stitch, or with felt-on-felt patterns laid in before felting.

Soumak is a flat-weave technique in which coloured wefts are wrapped over and back under the warps, producing a thicker cloth than kilim with a smooth face and loose ends on the back.

Persian flat-weave structures range from simple plain weave with one set of warps and wefts to compound weaves that add extra sets of warps, wefts or both.

Warangal durries are woven on pit looms and frame looms using weft-interlocking techniques, producing lightweight, reversible rugs.

Multi-coloured dhurries are commonly woven in interlocking tapestry technique, where the wefts of neighbouring colour areas loop around each other so no slit forms.

Multicoloured stripes are among the most popular dhurrie patterns, with designs often reflecting the weaving region.

Shataranji is a flat-weaving tradition of the Rangpur region of Bangladesh, declared a Geographical Indication of Bangladesh in 2021.

Millefleur, meaning 'thousand flowers', describes carpets whose patterns are entirely floral and built from a profusion of tiny blossom clusters, a style that developed within later Mughal floral design.

A Met Museum millefleur carpet shows densely arranged flowers on a red ground, including lotus flowers drawn at different stages of blooming in a distinctly Indian style; scholars have not agreed on its date, though details suggest the 18th century.

Millefleur Indian rugs are generally placed between the second half of the 17th century and about 1800, and many had pile of pashmina, the fine undercoat of Himalayan mountain goats.

During Jahangir's reign (1605–27), Mughal decorative arts took on far more floral imagery; this is often linked to the flower-filled valleys he saw on a visit to Kashmir in 1620.