White dots showing up in your rug

What the knot?

When you have a hand-knotted rug you expect it to be well, knotted.But what does it mean when you start seeing knots pop up through the pile?

Simply put, those knots (and often times they are white, so they will be noticeable when exposed in darker colors) are a very common characteristic of true oriental rugs.They are very common and nothing to worry about. These are part of the foundation yarns that have managed to wiggle their way to the upper surface of the rug.

So why is this happening? Hand knotted rugs are woven onto a foundation of warp (top to bottom) and weft (side to side) yarns. This is often a light or white shade of cotton yarn. Generally, the cotton is sent in shorter lengths, they must be knotted together to achieve the desired length. During the normal weaving process, they often break and need to be re-spliced together and this creates more knots.

Because the knots are generally larger than the typical surrounding yarns, normal wear and tear will force them to the surface.Since the foundation is typically a different color, you will typically notice them right away. When the rug is newer, you more than likely won’t notice them as the pile is generally at full length and hides them.

Important Note: It is very important to never, ever cut these knots in your beautiful oriental rug! Only trained technicians should do this. You could cause a hole to form in the foundation of rug and that could spell disaster for your beautiful rug(s).