The main processes of carpet making are as follows;

• Gathering of the wool

• Dyeing

• Creating blue prints of the carpet design (which is known as a cartoon or naksha). Artists using square paper where each square represents a single knot showing the color the weavers will follow prepare these.

• Weaving of the carpet

• Clipping of the pile after the carpet has been finished then washing and drying.

Nomadic tribes who have given up their mobile lifestyle and settled in a fixed location make village carpets, they complete the whole process from the beginning to the end, and the carpets are used as their furnishings. City carpets are commercially made, but instead of one person doing every stage, the making of the carpet is divided into specialized tasks, from designing and knotting, to washing and clipping. Nomadic carpets are made for the tribes own use so individuals create them in their spare time. City carpets are produced entirely for the export market and can have 3-4 weavers working at a time for a larger size carpet.

Types of knotting.

There are two main distinctive types of knotting used in carpets, Turkish or Ghiordes knot, and the Persian or Senneh knot, the terms symmetrical and asymmetrical are also used. The Turkish knot is found in Turkey, Russia, and some areas of Iran. The Persian knot is found throughout Iran, India, Turkey, Pakistan, and China. Turkish and Persian knots are normally tied around two adjacent warps. Sometimes they may be tied around more than two warps.

The Turkish knot is executed in the following manner: the yarn is passed between two adjacent warps, brought back under one, wrapped around both forming a collar, then pulled through the center so that both ends emerge from between the same warps.

The Persian knot is wrapped around one warp only. The yarn is then passed behind the adjacent warp so that a single warp divides the two ends of the yarn. It may be open on the left or the right. Rugs woven with the Persian knot have more accuracy and symmetry. They also produce finer rugs.