All rug dealers will tell you their rugs are of the highest quality, it’s part of the pitch. Don’t be fooled though, there are certain aspects that are required for a rug to be considered high quality. We asked Greg Halbert of Halbert Rug Company to share a few of the basic ingredients a handmade rug should have if it is to be considered a high quality rug.
Type of wool
“High altitude wool such as Zagros wool from Iran, Ghazni wool from Afghanistan, and Himalayan wool from Tibet are some of the best to use in rug making. A high altitude wool with a long staple (the length of the fiber), and rich in lanolin (natural oils within the wool) will resist stains and wear. They also become more radiant over time, developing a “sheen” so valued in antiques.”
Carding
“Carding is the process of combing the fibers to clean them and to line them up in preparation for spinning. Hand carding is always preferable to machine carding. Machine carding, the dominant form of carding today, can stress and break the fibers, causing excessive shedding or pilling.”
Spinning
“Wool must be spun into yarn before it can be dyed with color. This can be done either by machine or by hand. Hand spun yarn is always considered higher quality. Hand spinning produces an inconsistent density in the strand. It will be tighter here, looser there, constantly changing along the strand as it is spun by fingers, not by machine. This inconsistency causes an uneven dye uptake into the yarn so that the yarn is changing color slightly as the weaver ties the knots, which results in the finished piece having a wonderful variegated color.”
Natural Dyes
“Natural dyes have been used in textiles for thousands of years. They are resistant to sun fading, tend to not bleed when wet, and have a glow given to them by mother nature that no synthetic can perfectly mimic. Modern synthetics made since 1920 are stable, but still do not have the depth and richness of a true natural dye. From a collector’s viewpoint, rugs dyed with synthetic dyes generally have no long-term value and are mass quantity, commercially produced rugs. Rugs made with natural dyes are easier to harmonize with other aspects of a room’s decor because the rugs themselves are already harmonized.”
Rarity
“The combination of all these aspects is very difficult, very time consuming, and very rare. The outcome of a rug made with both hand spun yarn and natural dye will be somewhat unpredictable. Each piece will be one-of-a-kind. The buyer can rest easy knowing they will never walk in someone else’s house and see their same rug.”
Halbert Rug Company specializes in only this type of rug. The store carries a quality level unsurpassed by most. They educate their customers during their search for a rug that will retain value and even increase in value over time.
This post was created by St. Louis Magazine Partner Studio on behalf of Halbert Rug Company. Visit their website to learn more and schedule an appointment to view their gallery.
