Area Rugs Glossary

Arabesque
Motifs are made up of intertwining vines, leaves, branches, or blooms.

Brocading
A flat weaving technique in which coloured weft strands make the rug’s foundation.

Gul
The gul, a medallion, is found in Turkoman rugs, and it is named from the Persian word for flower or rose.

Hand-Tufted
A hand-tufted rug is created without tying knots into the foundation, but rather by pushing wool or acrylic yarn through a primary backing, creating a “tuft”.

Kilim
A group of flat-woven rugs.

Kirk
Sheared from a sheep’s belly, this is extremely fine wool

Loom
The warp strands are held taut for knotting and weaving by this structure.

Madder
A plant from Southwest Asia that displays little yellow blooms, red roots and leaves.

Master Workshop
Special workshops led by well-known designers or artists.

Medallion
A medallion is a classic rug layout in which a huge centerpiece serves as the design’s focal point.

Medallion-and-corner
A rug having a full medallion in the middle and quartered medallions in each corner.

Nap
The direction in which the rug’s pile is facing.

Pile Weave
The rug is woven through the creation of knots.

Runner
A long rug that is narrow, and rectangular.

Soumak
Flat-woven rugs where no knots are used.

Warp
Vertical fiber strands.

Weft
Horizontal fiber strands.

Yarn
A continuous strand of twisted threads