DESIGN, MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUE
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The carpets shown in this book are knotted handmade rugs woven mostly by women. The first step in carpet weaving is to decide on a design or a motif. In regional carpet production, experienced weavers create the design as they weave, whereas in the production of tight-knotted carpets a pattern to refer to is necessary. Next figure, dyring newly dyed wool. |
''Sümerbank'', a State owned
company, after long years of research and labour , has successfully re-introduced
almost all of the designs of old Turkish carpets to the carpet market, but with
a modern approach and new concepts. Leading companies too, through their own
efforts, produce new motifs derived from the old ones. There is a great variety
of motifs of geometric designs. Stylised animal, human and plant motifs are
found scattered among the geometric designs, and the colours used bring out
these motifs.
Some of the carpets with floral designs exhibit such harmony and colours that they resemble flower gardens. The carnival of flowers, branches and plants that covers the surface of the carpets is always framed by a complementing design.
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Dyeing wool by the peasantry in a very traditional way |
The most important element in design is proportion. The design should be weaved in such a manner that there should be no irregularities in the corners. The carpets with a ''mihrab'' design (seccade) may have different designs in or around the ''mihrab'', and decorations of Arabic letters may be seen in the borders. The design is drawn in sections on sheets of millimetric paper and placed on the l00rn to help the weaver .As the carpet increases in size, the number of these sections increase too. The second most important element is the material used, which varies according to the type ofcarpet.lt may be wool,pure silk,cottonormercerised, or silk-like cotton called floss. |
Bursa is one of the few centres of silk production in the world, and for centuries, the pure silk produced here has been used in the making of handmade Turkish carpets. The real beauty of silk comes out best of all in these magnificent Iooking rugs and wall carpets. Lamb's wool is the most popular material used. The grasslands of the Anatolian plateaux are the reason behind the durability and sheep and lambs ,and therefore wool is plentiful.The wool used in carpet production must be special: strong and soft.In certain regions,the wool, as in the old days, is spun by hand to make the yarn used in carpet weaving.Today,textiles are a major industry in Turkey, and the country is a leading cotton producer.
In carpet weaving, the base (warp and weft) is constructed of cotton; wool is then knotted onto this to form the pile.Such handmade carpets made of both cotton and wool, are as attactive and durable as the others.Floss is used only in Kayseri carpets,and it makes up thepile. As floss is easily dyed, bright and attractive carpets in a variety of colours are produced by using floss.
Knotted carpets are woven on a loom consisting of bars,onto which the warp threads are stretced.Onto these threads, the pile knots are tied according to the pattern.The thread ends,which make up the pile,are clipped off to get a velvet-like soft surface. Thus, the motifs are made up of thousands of individual knots.The tighter the knots,the finer and stronger is the carpet. The pleasure one gets from a beautiful carpet equals the pleasure one gets from a beautiful painting.
The double knot, known as the Turkish or Gordes knot, is used in all typical Turkish carpets. Another well known system is the Sehna or Persian knot. The Turkish knot is wrapped around two warps and the Persian knot around a single warp. A kilim, which is similar to a carpet, is woven on the l00rn but with a different technique; knots are not used.
The Gordes knot makes a carpet stronger, firmer and more durable, while the Sehna knot allows the weaving of different patterns. However, once a carpet is made it is difficult to determine the knotting system used.
