What is the difference between a hand-knotted and machine-knotted carpet?

Rugs are offered in different price ranges. But how does that work? What is the difference between an oriental and a Persian rug and when is something hand-knotted or machine-knotted? Seens mainly sells Persian and Oriental carpets and explains them to you.

Materials of a rug

You may have noticed: you pay more for a hand-knotted carpet than for a machine-knotted rug. Sounds logical, because manual work is more expensive than when a machine assembles a rug. But what is the difference?

The hand-knotted carpets usually come from the Middle East. Persian carpets come from Iran and oriental carpets come from Afghanistan, India or Pakistan. In contrast to machine-knotted carpets, these rugs are made of natural materials: wool and cotton.

Machine-knotted rugs are usually made of partially synthetic fabrics in combination with natural materials.

The natural materials of a Persian carpet, or oriental carpet, make the quality higher. Wool and cotton are generally hard-wearing materials that can withstand dirt well. These carpets are also usually a lot heavier.

How long does it take to make a Persian rug?

A big difference between machine-knotted and hand-knotted rugs is time. Making a rug by hand is an intensive, time-consuming job. For a large Persian rug (for example 4 by 5 meters) one can be busy for 5 years. There are thousands, if not millions of knots that are done by hand. You can therefore understand that the prices are higher than for a machine-knotted rug.

What makes a Persian rug or oriental carpet unique?

An oriental carpet or a Persian carpet will never be completely perfect. On the contrary; the 'mistakes' are part of the carpet. For example, certain elements that should be symmetrical may not be exactly symmetrical. That is simply because it remains human work.

You can see this on the underside of a hand-knotted rug. There you will also see that the underside is often almost as beautiful as the top because it is almost as colorful. You will not see this with a machine-knotted rug, because it is woven differently. There the underside is often a lot duller and more colorless than the top.

So it basically comes down to the fact that every Persian carpet, or oriental rug is unique! No hand-knotted carpet will be exactly the same.

So it takes a lot more work to make a Persian and Oriental rug. It is a more expensive investment, but then you have something unique. The rugs retain their value – if you take good care of them – and will last for years, if not generations, because of their beautiful quality!

Looking for a beautiful vintage rug, Persian carpet or Oriental rug? View the range of vintage rugs from Seens!