A floral arrangement in ivory, woven in the technique that bridges the gap between flatweave's flatness and the deep bulk of hand-knot work. The pattern was drawn in the studio, refined against a small-scale sample weave, and then committed to a full-size canvas after a final round of proportion adjustments. The tufting workshop in India has been running this technique for nearly four decades, and the discipline of that practice shows in the consistency of the pile across the finished surface.

The piece took about 7 weeks of bench time. Two tufters and a finisher shared the work, drawing wool yarn through stretched cotton with a hand-held gun, sealing the back with natural latex over a cotton scrim, and shearing the pile to its final relief by hand at the close. Each step is checked against the cartoon before the next pass goes in, which is why the figure-to-ground reading stays clean across the whole field.

The composition

The single ivory field carries the floral arrangement through subtle pile relief rather than colour change, the way a Jacquard weave handles a tone-on-tone pattern. The pile catches and releases light differently with each step across the rug, which is the optical property a tufted wool surface has that a printed alternative never reaches.

The piece in a room

The rug works under a sofa with the front legs resting on it, or floats below a glass coffee table where the pile relief becomes part of the composition. Pairs well with mid-toned wood, leather, brass, and woven natural fibre. Strong colour walls hold it forward; off-white walls let it breathe. Avoid placing it against strongly patterned upholstery; the rug is the graphic event in the composition and asks for a quiet ground around it. Light coming in from the side rather than directly above brings out the pile relief best.

Care

Vacuum weekly with the beater bar disengaged. A beater bar will pull tufts loose from any tufted rug regardless of price. Blot spills with a clean cotton cloth from the outside of the spill in, and dab dry rather than rubbing. Expect a small amount of shedding for the first month or two as loose fibre works out of the pile, which stops on its own. A professional dry clean every two to three years keeps the colour fresh and lifts dust from the foundation.

Reference

• Medium: hand-tufted wool, latex bonded, cotton scrim
• Dimensions: size as listed
• Pile: 12 mm
• Hands: 2 tufters and 1 finisher, ~4 weeks
• Origin: India

Free shipping across India. Cash on delivery available. 7-day exchange.