Hand Tufted Carpets

Tufted carpets offer the same versatility in terms of color, pattern and texture as the knotted carpets. They are the ones that can be easily mistaken for the oriental rugs. They are a type of piled carpets that do not involve any knotting but simple tufting of the pile. They are much more economical than the traditional knotted rugs.

Material
The base material in the tufted rugs are pre woven cloth, usually canvas that provides a strong base. In the contemporary times jute base is also frequently used. Pile can be silk, wool or any of the synthetic yarns. They are pre dyed into the required colors. Apart from the base fabric and pile yarn another backing needs to be stuck to the base on which the piles have been anchored. This backing holds the pile to the base and gives certain amount of strength. Thus in all the material required for a hand tufted carpets are :

Pre woven fabric Pile yarn Latex glue Backing material.

Process
Though the process involves tufting individual tufts in the anchor material the process of tufting is not even half as tedious and lengthy as involved in woven carpets.

The yarn in required colors is acquired. The anchor material is printed with the desired pattern and stretched on frame. Tufts are individually inserted in the anchor material. The anchor is coated with latex glue on the backside to fix the anchorage. Secondary backing is added to give dimensional stability and mechanical strength A skillful person can tuft a carpet of 10' by 6' in about a week's time.

Quality
A tufted carpet is not as durable and strong as the knotted one. Since it is a cheaper option, one must judge the kind of backing material and glue are used. Apart from this, the tightness of the tuft is the only thing that can ensure some life of the hand tufted carpets.