This runner had signs of heavy wear:  the wool pile had worn down to the foundation of the rug.  Our weaver is in the process of knotting new wool pile using two colors of Persian wool in order to recreate the color variations of the original rug.  During the weaving process the cut ends of the wool yarn are loose and shaggy.

The woven repair has been shorn to match the length of the surrounding rug.  The ends of the pile may be slightly burned to simulate the look of age.  The goal is for the newly woven repair to look compatible with the rest of the rug; a good repair should not be readily apparent when looking at the whole rug.

This rug is unraveling at the end most likely due to pet damage.    Wool pile is missing, and the foundation threads are too short to use as the support system for new wool knots.

New cotton threads are sewn into the intact portion of the rug, and the ends of those threads are fastened to a wood frame with nails.  This frame becomes the weaver’s loom, and the threads are the new foundation.  Wool strands are hand-knotted onto the foundation in order to recreate the original colors and pattern of the rug.

Once the damaged area has been rewoven, the wool is shorn to match the length of the area surrounding the repair.  The entire end of the rug is finished by binding it with heavy thread to prevent future unraveling.

In order to identify repairs prior to purchasing a rug, it is best to look at the front and back of the rug.  This high quality repair is virtually undetectable.