Rugsville Ikat Red Wool Carpet 8' x 10'

Ikat patterns in hand-knotted wool are an unusual translation of an essentially flat-weave technique into pile construction. The original ikat is a resist-dyed yarn woven into a flat textile so the figures emerge with the soft blurred edges that the dye-resist process produces. Translated into a knotted carpet, the ikat figure is drawn rather than dyed-and-revealed, but the visual signature of the soft blurred edge is preserved through the way the colours are placed at the knot scale.

Three weavers shared this 8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm) loom in India for around five months. The pile is hand-spun wool on a cotton foundation, knotted at a traditional density. The red ground was achieved with madder root prepared in copper vats; the ikat figures are drawn in deeper red and ivory. After weaving the rug was washed in a lustre bath and sheared close so the ikat figures read with their characteristic soft edge.

The composition

A deep red field carries ikat figures in deeper madder and ivory, drawn with the soft blurred edges that mark the resist-dye lineage. The figures repeat across the field at irregular intervals, the way an ikat fabric reads when seen at room distance. The red is built from madder, so it carries the slight tonal variation between dye batches that distinguishes hand-dyed wool. Over the first decade the red will deepen toward oxblood under the wool's lustre.

What you are buying

Hand-knotted ikat-pattern wool carpets at this size price at three to four times this MSRP at Western design dealers. The translation of an ikat figure into a knotted format is a more demanding draw than a Persian floral; the workshop must work the soft edges through careful colour placement at the knot scale. A hand-knotted wool piece appreciates with use as the wool gains lustre.

The piece in a room

8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm) anchors a drawing room with a three-seat sofa and paired armchairs, or a primary bedroom against a king bed. The deep red palette pairs with cream or ivory plaster walls, with limewashed white, with leather upholstery in cognac or tobacco, with brass and bronze lamps. The ikat figure rewards close inspection; place the rug where the viewer can move around it.

Conservation

Rotate a half turn each spring and autumn for even wear. Vacuum weekly with the beater bar disengaged. Blot any spill immediately with a clean cotton cloth from the outside in. Hand-wash by a wool conservator every five to seven years. The madder red holds its depth with this routine.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted hand-spun wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 244 x 305 cm (8' x 10')
• Construction: ikat-pattern, asymmetric knot
• Hands: 3 weavers, ~5 months
• Pile: hand-spun wool
• Dye: madder root
• Origin: India

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