Flat Weave Carpets

Flat weave carpets or flat weave rugs have flat surface due to absence of knots and hence the name- Flat weave. These carpets are known for their beauty, durability and strength. Flat weave carpets also called as flat woven carpets, utilize warp and weft strands as a part of the foundation and in creating patterns. These carpets are mainly made up of materials like wool, cotton, acrylic etc. but the woolen material is preferred to other types of materials. Virtually all types of colors are used in these carpets. Design theme is derived from the natural surroundings, geometrical and floral patterns, cultural and historical traditions.

In flat weave carpets, the pile fibres are firmly compressed to form a compact and durable carpet. This also reduces the furniture pressure marks. The compact structure of the carpets prevent the dirt to enter into the pile yarn thereby easing maintenance and hoovering.

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Manufacturing Techniques
Manufacturing of flat weave carpets involve interlocking of the vertical and the horizontal threads. In this technique there is no knotting of the threads. The manufacturing process uses the warp as the foundation and the wefts are woven through the warps. The manufacturing produces flat carpet because of the absence of any knots. It is because of this they are also called as flat weave carpets.

Materials Used
The flat weave rugs and carpets are manufactured out of following five basic materials- sheep wool, goat hair, cotton, floss silk, and silk. Wool is the popular choice. However the quality of the wool is determined by the place of their origin, climate, the breed of sheep, and the time of year of the shearing. Wool reared from the sheep of the warmer regions tend to be more dry and brittle. The life of these types of woolen carpets are short. Wool reared from the healthy sheep of the colder regions are soft, silky and healthy. The best quality of wool comes from the sheep residing at the higher elevation. Wool is then spun either manually or industrially. Care is however taken that during spinning, the fibers don't break, as this might result in the overall durability of the carpets to be woven.

The other popular material used is cotton which is used mostly for the warp threads, as well as for the wefts. Cotton is more elastic than wool. Moreover, tighter knots can be tied on cotton warps as opposed to wool.

Types of Flat Weave Carpets
Depending on the place of their origin, style and finish, flat weave carpets are of following types-Kilim, Soumak, Brocade and Plain weave.

Kilim
Kilim are one of the important types of rugs. Their weaving process is simple and quick. Kilim rugs are also less expensive than pile (knotted) rugs. Kilims are known for their colorful patterns. The weft strands are non continuous as no rows of knots are added. The weft strands pass through a few warp strands after which they are they loop back around when they reach a section where a new color weft is needed.


Different colors are used in making the weft on the warp, and turning back at the end of each design. The pattern in the kilim is formed by allowing the yarn of particular color to pass over and over and under the vertical yarns for the duration of the particular color or design motif. After this process again the horizontal yarn is turned on the same path (next row) along the edge of the same coloured motif. This process goes on until the completion of the individual motif. Thereafter the next motif is started. However the colors of two yarns are not normally joined together in anyway thereby causing a slit to appear between the two respective yarns. The process continues until whole of the Kilim is completed.


Soumak
Soumak weaving is another important type of flat weaving. These types of carpets are woven mainly by the Caucasian weavers. Since many centuries these types of carpets have been popular among Caucasian group. In soumak flat weave carpets, wefts are passed over two or four warps and back under one or two warps.


The pattern followed here is geometric and is based on the designs used for knotted carpets. Soumak carpets are generally constructed from wool and are strong and compact. The design weaved covers the warp and the weft completely.

Plain
In a plain weave carpets, warp and weft are positioned to form a simple criss-cross pattern. The weft thread crosses the warp thread by going over one, then under the next, and the process goes on. The next weft thread on the other hand passes under the warp threads that its neighbor went over. In plain weave carpets, threads of the same weight are used. Number of threads per inch are also same. The plain weave often gives the appearance of checkerboard. The fabrics used to manufacture plain weave carpets are chiffon, organza, and taffeta.


Brocade
Brocading is also an important part of flat weaving. Brocades consists of a warp and a weft. Additional weft strand is used to pattern the foundation. The weft strand so used may be either continuous or discontinuous. These weft strands are passed through the already existing warp and weft strands.