Carpets of India for your home – Explore the craft of Handmade Carpets

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Written By ms

Best of Carpets for your home – How to select and buy the Carpet for the floor, method of making floor carpet, why choose carpet design for home interiors

Carpet, as we all know, is a floor covering, beautifully crafted with various colours and patterns. Most likely, you have one in your house too. As a material, the upper layer of the rug carpet is a decorated pile of interwoven fibres. This mat is then supported by a durable fabric back cover. Interestingly, the carpet is one of the oldest home decor items ever. 

You see, carpet rugs originated a long time ago. With its origin in Western Asia 4,000-5,000 years ago; the Pazyryk carpet is the oldest carpet ever. India too has an excellent legacy of this craft- from Mughals to Marathas. This royal home decor item was a standard addition in the Courts of great kings. 

carpet-silk
Silk Carpet

Carpets Craft

Manufacturing of these handcrafted floor covers is around since the times of kings and palaces. In earlier times, the rug was mainly a handcrafted item. They were woven on a handloom, with plenty of care and precision. In recent modern times, machines are put to good use for creating carpets. With technology, the carpet industry is at a popular place reaching far and beyond Asian regions. Do you know Carpets are one of the most significant craft exports of India? Yes, Indian artisans of carpets are globally recognised and respected for their crafts of carpet weaving.

carpet tufting
Carpet tufting

Types of carpets 

Here in our country, we have a rich history of carpets. In India, we have a legacy of different kinds of rugs – various threads, crafting and designs. There were many kinds of carpets at that time. You can find museums exhibiting different styles of carpet used by kings and queens in earlier centuries. Surely, there is a wide variety of rugs in India, including handwoven and machine-made.

What are the types of carpets?

You can get a wide variety of carpets here. Broadly, there are a couple of ways to check and buy a suitable rug for your home. 
By the carpet weave:
a. Hand-knotted carpets
b. Hand-tufted carpets
c. Handwoven carpets
d. Machine-made carpets

By the carpet design:
a. Silk flower hand
b. Indo-Tibetian pattern
c. Indo-Persian style
d. Shaggy rugs
e. Contemporary rugs or carpets
f. Recycled chindi rugs

What is the material in carpets?

Carpets are either made by using a single kind of fibre or a combination of one or more. The fibre-threads used are natural or synthetic. You can choose from:
a. Silk,
b. Wool,
c. Polyester,
d. Wool-Silk combined,
e. Nylon,
f. Polypropylene.
carpet weave

How to choose the best carpet for homes?

To choose a carpet for your home, you should check for the following features:
a. Carpet Fibre
b. Method of Carpet making
c. Design of the Carpet

Where to buy the best carpets in India?

The carpet industry in Kashmir, Bhadohi, Kerala, West Bengal, Jaipur, Gwalior, Agra, Panipat, Mirzapur are the most popular ones. Here, you may choose to buy directly from the craftsmen and find a cheaper rate for high-quality material.


Carpets for home

carpet at home
Carpet makingCarpet DesignsMaterial of Carpet fibre
Hand-knottedSilk flowerSilk
Hand-tuftedIndo-NepalWool
Hand-wovenIndo-PersianPolyester
Machine-madeShaggy RugsWool-Silk mix
Contemporary rugsNylon
Recycled Chindi rugsPolypropylene

Carpet making

Amongst the many kinds of carpets available in India, each variety is truly unique in its way. There are many kinds of carpet-making methods, each with a specific set of techniques. Some of the popular ones are:

Hand-knotted Carpets

Mughals brought this method of making carpet. At the time of Babar, when he missed his Persian luxury, he ordered to make the carpet in that style.

Hand-Tufted Carpets

In this technique, a tufting gun injects the pile of carpet in the backing material. As there is the third backing cloth used, these kinds of carpets become more stable. Loop pile or cut pile is used to make this kind of carpet.

Hand-Woven carpets

Handwoven is the most expensive carpet as everything is handcrafted. This style is famous as the most elegant and graceful form of luxurious art. It comes with the best of pattern designs made with flowers, rhomboids, arabesques, and animal motifs. Every carpet design tells a story that holds a unique meaning. Each completed piece of a handwoven carper is an exclusive, irreplicable work of craft. For example: 

  • Cypress tree: Survival in the afterlife
  • Anar: Pomegranate riches in abundance
  • Tree of Life: Eternal Life
  • Camels: Wealth and Happiness
  • Peacock: The scared bird
  • Dove: Peace and Good Omen
  • Cloud Bands: Good Fortune
  • Weeping willow: Death, Sorrow, Grief
  • Lions: Victory and Glory

The Material of Carpet fibre

Nylon

Nylon is also opted by many carpet manufacturers, as it can be dyed easily making the printing process go with ease. Commercial carpet makers do use nylon.

Polypropylene

When you need a less expensive carpet, polypropylene is the best. This type usually makes Berber mats that are suitable for high use areas such as entryways. They have excellent tensile strength, and hence Polypropylene carpets can be used in high foot traffic areas, like hospitals, offices, schools, etc.

Wool

This is a natural fibre got from animals. Wool was used earlier when synthetic fibres were not available, but it still has a good market value in the carpet industry. It is usually available as a blend of 80/20 – where 80 % is wool, and 20 % is a synthetic fibre. This combination helps the soft wool gain a higher strength.

Polyester

When it comes to choosing the right kind of fabric, with more durability, affordable and stain-resistant, polyester beats them all.

Silk

Silk is natural and hence is used in a blend with synthetic fibres to gain high strength. Since silk is the most expensive material, so are the carpets made from it.


Design of carpets

For the interior look of your home, the visual appeal of a rug makes a significant impact. You see, in most of these handmade beauties, the design is a combination of colourful motifs and patterns. Yes, these patterns also speak of a story or a narrative. Moreover, they also enhance the overall style of your space. Let’s see the selections available.

Silk flower hand

silk carpet
The silk carpets have beautiful designs made of flowers of different kinds

Indo-Tibetian pattern

indo tibetian carpet
These carpets include both Indian and Nepal style; it could be nature designs or machine designs, image from Pinterest.

Indo- Persian style

persian carpet
The Persian designs are crafted on carpets using India style. 

Shaggy rugs

shaggy carpet rug
A shag is a rug or carpet that has a long pile. It is thick and beautiful, mainly made of wool polyester or other materials.

Contemporary rugs or carpets

contemporary rug
These are designed using geometrical figures, or retro patterns and are more durable, image from Pinterest.

Recycled chindi rugs

chindi  rug carpet
Chindi rugs are from waste cloths and hence the name “recycle”. It is a beautiful way of transforming unused clothes into useful rugs, image from Rugville.

Why choose a carpet for your floor?

Are you planning to decorate a new home? Or, maybe you are renovating the existing one for a fresh new look? Well, a carpet can be the focus decor element. 

Add richness

You see, carpets bring a touch of luxury and exclusiveness to your home. It is a great way to upgrade your lifestyle one notch up. So, do you feel like living in a household that feels royal? Get a carpet on your floor.

Brings focus

Believe this – carpets are the interior design secret to hold a room together. Nowadays, many apartment homes come with a combined living-dining hall, or maybe a larger master bedroom. Carpets are a time-tested solution to bring loose furniture pieces together. For instance, in your living room, a rug can bring together the lounge chairs, sofa set and centre table.

So many choices

Carpets offer a treasure of selections – from casual contemporary rugs to handwoven silk splendours. No matter what type of carpet you choose, they blend perfectly with any decor theme. With just one selection, you can turn your room from boring to cheerful.