types of persian handmade kilims by geometrical patterns

A beating comb is usually just a larger and cruder version of the familiar hair comb; it is usually made of wood, metal, bone, horn, or some combination of these materials. Its function is to compress, i.e. “beat down”, succeeding lines of wefts against the preceding ones so that the kilim rug produced is tightly woven.

The shuttle is basically a stick with notches in the ends. When used, the weft end is placed in the notch and the shuttle is then inserted between alternate warps to produce a weave, but weavers often prefer to dispense with the shuttle and pass the weft between the warps by hand.

A knife or scissors are used to cut and trim the wefts and warps.

Wool

Wool is the primary and often the only material used to make a kilim rug. Many kilims are made totally from wool where it is used for both warps and wefts, and wool is the primary weft material used with cotton warps, which accounts for the great majority of all kilims. This popularity of wool is due to its inherent qualities. It is supple, durable, handles easily when spun or woven, readily takes on dyes and, most important, is in plentiful supply in kilim-making regions. There are certain breeds of sheep, like the merino, whose fleece is especially sought-after for its special luster and length of fiber, but actually it’s the domestic fat-tailed sheep bred with its favorable climatic and grazing conditions that provides much of the excellent fleece used in kilims.

Cotton

Cotton is commonly used for warps because of its high strength and plentiful supply. Also, because it keeps its shape well in use, retains its natural whiteness with age, and because it can be spun into fine, thin strands, it is commonly interwoven in places to highlight certain aspects in the overall design executed mainly with wool.

Animal hair

Animal hair – goat, camel or horse – is used sparely in kilim-making, but to good effect. Very strong and durable camel hair, where available, is sometimes used to give added strength to a woolen kilim rug, while tail or mane hair of horses is used by some nomads to provide decorative fringes or tassels. Goat hair was commonly used to weave nomadic tent and floor covers for its strength. Whereas goat hair is rougher that wool, angora goat hair, “mohair”, is much softer and gives a silky sheen when mixed with wool. Mohair is also used to make the lustrous “filikli tulu” with its shining locks of hair.

Silk

Silk was and remains a luxurious material, and though flatweaves made from silk are now rare they are still produced, notably in the Kayseri district of Anatolia in Turkey. Bridal dowries that include silk flatweaves are treasured, regarded as status symbols, and protected as family wealth.

Beads and baubles, and other items that may be regarded as extraneous to a flatweave readily marketable in Western countries, are sometimes interwoven into a kilim design by some tribal kilim-makers and, due to their very authenticity, such kilims have a certain ethnic appeal.