Carpets and Rugs

Carpet

Fabric used as floor covering. Provides floor with both visual and textural softness, resilience and warmth in the range of colors an patterns.

Carpire

Meaning "to pluck"

Wool

Used for centuries in manufacturing carpet. Generally the most expensive fiber and the basis of carpet standards.

New Zealand Wool

Wool absorbs dye easily, colors with great clarity and uniformity., color is almost white.

Agentinean Wool

Noted for its gloss and sheen with natural resistance to soiling.

Indian Wool

Crush-resistant wool.

Iraqi Wool

Among the most luxurious and costly of wool, high abrasion resistance and durability.

Scottish Wool

Black face sheep bear finest of all carpet staples as long as 15 inches.

Sisal

Natural product that grows like grass, light cream or oatmeal in color. A strong, woody fiber produced from the leaves of the agave plant.

Scratch Rush

Another term for Sisal.

Maize

Carpet whose fibers are obtained from corn husk.

Coir

A strong flexible hair like fiber from coconut shells, highly resistant and proven to be unfriendly to insects.

Coconut Plush

Another term for Coir.

Jute

The softest of all natural fibers. It may fade or darken in color when exposed to sunlight.

Nylon

The most popular carpet fiber. It is the most widely used man-made fiber. It is often combined with wool for durability.

Acrylic

One of the first synthetic fiber ever made for a carpet. It is always used as a staple fiber and has many of the characteristics of wool and has the lowest static build-up factor. Mostly used for bath mats and rugs.

Modacrylic

Also known as modified acrylic. It has better heat retention and is flame retardant as compared to acrylic.

Polyester

Soft and luxurious, strong and durable with high abrasion to resistance. It has low static build-up factor and most commonly used for residential carpet. Mainly used as shags and random sheared carpet.

Polypropelene Olefins

Newest and one of the most economical material for carpet. It is the lightest commercial carpet fiber and almost completely free of static build-up. It is commonly used as outdoor carpeting.

Blends

Combinations of two or more fibers into a single carpet yarn with each yarn lending to the other its dominant characteristic.

Face

Composed of pile which is the upright ends of yarn whether cut or looped. It forms the wearing surface of carpets or rugs.

Primary Backing

The yarns need a "ground" on which to "hook" themselves. A canvas foundation on which the yarns are woven.

Latex

To glue on the "roots" of the yarns onto the cotton canvas backing on which they are woven, a mixed synthetic natural rubber compound is used for the carpets.

Secondary Backing

Can be made of jute, cotton or polypropylene. It is bonded to the primary backing in the latexing stage and gives the carpet dimensional stability, added protection and gives additional binding characteristic.

Tufting

Far less expensive and faster to produce than woven carpet. It is constructed by punching tufts of yarn into a backing.

Weaving

Traditional way of making carpet on a loom. it is a slower, more labor-intensive process.

Velvet

A type of weaved carpet with least complex weaving method and most inexpensive. All the yarn on this type of construction appears on the back of the carpet.

Wilton

Carpet weaving process named after a town in England. It is constructed in a modified Jacquard loom. It is thick and heavy because yarn of every color used is carried beneath the pile surface.

Axminster

Capet named after a town in England but was invented and developed in the United States. The designs are often inspired by European and Oriental patterns that are weaved intricately and has multi-colored patterns resulting to a heavily-ribbed backing.

Knitting

A type of carpet construction that uses three sets of needles to loop the pile backing yarn and the stitching yarns together. It is known for their plush piles and it is difficult to seam during installation.

Needlepunched

Method of carpet construction where fibers, usually polypropylene or acrylic are punched into a web of synthetic fiber. It is then put under heavy compression to form the characteristic of fiber.

Flocked

Type of carpet making that uses electrostatic method. Fibers are held by an adhesive in upright position with approximately 17,000 ends of fiber per square inch. Designs are usually print-dyed.

Pile Density

The weight of a pile yarn in a given volume of carpet face. It is an important determinant of carpet performance especially for high traffic environments.

Gauge

The distance between the needles of tufted carpets. Measured in fractions or in inch.

Pitch

The number of ends in a 27-inch width of carpet for woven carpets.

Stitch Rate

The number of times a individual needle inserts a tuft into the primary backing as the primary backing moves one inch through the tufting machine.

Rows

Refer to the number of ends per inch in lengthwise for an Axminster carpet.

Wires

Refer to the number of ends per inch lengthwise for a Wilton and velvet carpet.

Pile Height

The length of the tuft from the primary backing to the tip.

Wire Height

The height of the steel blades in the 100m on which the tufts are formed in a woven carpet.

Face Weight

Also referred to as pile weight or yarn weight. The weight of the pile yarn above and below the backing.

Pile Weight or Yarn Weight

Another term for face weight.

Total Weight

Include face weight and the backing materials, finishes and coatings.

Finished Weight

Another term for total weight.

Yarn Weight

Expressed as count, which indicated the fineness or coarseness of the finished yarn.

Woolen Count

Number of running yarns in one ounce of finished yarns

Denier

Measurement of weight in grams of a standard 9000 meter length of yarn.

Ply

The number of strands per single yarn twisted together to form one pile yarn.

Twist Level

Rarely examined by consumers and salespeople with regard to the performance of a carpet. Intermingling of yarns happen if not speculated carefully and resulting to "blossom" and "wet poodle" look.

Texture

The prime visual characteristic of a carpet after color.

Cut Pile

Created by cutting each loop of pile. It produces a wide range of textures.

Cut Pile Plush

It is a smooth cut pile where the cut ends of the yarn blend with each other.

Velvet Plush

Texture of carpet when dense pile is cut closely.

Saxony Plush

Texture between cut pile plush and cut pile shag. It makes use of thicker yarns It has twisted yarn which gives definition to each tuft.

Twist/Frieze

An all cut pile surface made from yarns that have been tightly twisted and and the twist set by a special heating treatment.

Shag

A multi-directional, high pile twist, giving an attractive informal look. It has heavily textured surface created by the long, twisting yarns.

Loop Pile

Created by weaving, tufting or knitting the pile yarns into loops. It is left uncut, tougher and more easily to maintain that cut pile.

Level Loop Pile

Entire surface is made of uniform uncut loops, which are of the same height.

Multilevel Loop

Surface is made of different pile heights, all uncut loops. This loop is capable of producing sculptured patterns.

Combination Loop and Cut Pile

Adds a degree of warmth to an all loop pile. It can be produced in tufted and woven constructions.

Level Type Shear

In the loop surface, some of the loops are cut and some remain uncut.

Random Shear

Loops are sheared to different heights, forming a pattern that can be definite or irregular.

Carving

Process of incising a design into a carpet or rug which has already been woven.

Hairline Carving

Used between colors in a multicolor design rug in order to accentuate and give a design some dimension.

Recessing

Process of actually weaving a design into a low level rather than shearing down or carving it into the carpet.

Embossing

Process of weaving a design in a higher level.

Beveling

Rounding off those parts of a carpet that have already been carved, recessed or embossed.

Dyeing

Carpet coloring is accomplished by pre-dyeing the carpet fibers before the carpet is manufactured or post dyeing the finished piece of carpet.

Printing

Patterns are applied or printed to carpets after it is manufactured.

Screen Printing

Employs flat templates or screens, through which dyes are forced to form the finished pattern on the carpet pile.

Deep-dye Printing

An electrostatic charge forces the pre-metallized dyes in this process deep into the pile.

Roller Printing

Employs embossed cylinders to deposit the design on the face of the carpet. Each cylinder contains a different color.

Jet Printing

Utilizes rows of very closely spaced jets which spray the carpet with color as it passes by.

Lining

A separate foundation of the carpet. It increases weatherability, gives aded insulation, helps deaden sound and provides comfort underfoot. It also prolongs life of the carpet by 70%.

Cushioning

Another term use for carpet lining.

Fiber Cushions

Made by needlepunching natural fiber, synthetic fiber or a combination of the two into a felt like pad.

Sponge Rubber Cushions

Flat sponge, ripple (waffle) sponge or reinforced foam rubber. Highly compresible and has smaller cell structure thus, providing more uniform support.

Polyurethane Foam Cushion

Manufactured from scraps of foam bonded together through an adhesive and heat fusion process.

Tackless Stripping

The traditional installation whereby pre-tacked thin strips of plywood are fastened all around the perimeter of the space to be carpeted. Most common installation for residential and luxury required area like hotel lobbies.

Stretch-In Installation

Another term for Tackless Stripping.

Glue-down Method

Usually employed with a bonded carpet. High density foam rubber is used as the secondary backing and is cemented directly to the floor.

Direct Glue-down

The most common method of commercial installation, economical and practical way of installing carpets. The carpet is glued directly to the floor without a cushion. Usually applied on stairs and stair ramp.

Double Glue-down

Installation method combines underfoot comfort of stretch-in installation with the stability of the direct glue-down method.

Self-stick

The latest development in carpet installation technique. A flexible adhesive layer is applied to the carpet backing and covered with a protective plastic film.

Rugs

A single piece of compact, woven, knitted or tufted fabric, has borders and intended as floor coverings. Manufactured or natural or man-made fibers and is produced in various lengths and widths as well as a number of shapes. A separate unit and is meant to cover only a portion of the floor area and not the whole floor.

Pazyryk Carpet

Earliest surviving pile rug which dates from 4th-5th Century BC. It was excavated by Sergei Voinovich Rudenko in 1949.

200 x 183cm (6'6" x 6'0")

Size of Pazyryk Carpet.

Griffins

The Pazyryk Carpet is bordered with this creature.

Antique

100 years or more. Purists believe that Oriental rugs if dated prior to 1856 before synthetic dyes were used are classified to be in his category.

Semi-Antique or Old

Rugs dating between 50 and 100 years old.

Utility Value

Depends entirely of the durability of the fabric as floor covering.

Art Value

Depends upon the color and design rather than the texture of the rug.

Collector's Value

Depends upon the rarity of the art value.

Warps

The parallel strings stretched from loom beam to loom beam upon which rows of knots are tied. They are the stationary threads on the loom. These fibers are the strongest part of the rug.

Wefts

The filling yarn that are woven through the warps, they run across the width of the rug, over and under the warp strings and between the rows of knots.

Knots

Tied by looping yarn around the pairs of warps and cutting off the standing end. The ends of the knot become the pile or nap of the rug.

Edge Bindings

Made by wrapping several warps at the edge of the rug with yarn to reinforce this part of the rug.

End Finishes

Hold knots and wefts from working off the rug's warp strings.

Fringes

Formed by gathering and knotting together bundles of warp strings at both ends of the rug after the rug has been cut from the loom.

Field

The background of the rug inside the borders. It may be solid color or patterned.