3 Tips to Help You Buy Handmade Rugs Online

Buying rugs online is almost becoming second nature to us. The lockdown has only pushed us further in the direction of ‘E-tail’ therapy and from the looks of it, the phenomenon is here to stay. While buying groceries and fashion products online is relatively simple, buying something as ornate and tactile as a handmade rug can be tricky.

To save you some time and avoid confusing decision-making, we are here to take you through some basic tips for buying rugs online. Follow these guidelines on how to buy rugs online and we assure you, you’ll make the right choice.

Step 1: Find the right measurement for the rug

Once you have decided where you want to place your rug, measure the dimensions properly. This will be crucial when deciding upon what size of rug you need to buy. There are three ways you can use rugs in living room: 

• No Legs of furniture on the rug
• Front Legs of Furniture on the rug
• All legs of the furniture on the rug

Once you are sure which style you want to go with, use a measuring tape to measure the dimensions accordingly.

Step 2: Choosing the right material

Rugs come in a number of natural and synthetic materials. It is important to know a little about them to make the right choice for your space when you are buying rugs online.

Wool 

Wool is the most common and classic material used to make rugs for centuries. It is extremely durable, soft, and stain-resistant. This is one of the most preferred choices for those looking for area rugs for long term use and for high traffic areas.

Silk 

the most premium material in rugs is lustrous and smooth. Silk rugs or silk and wool rugs are often the most valuable rugs in the market. These rugs are perfect for your bedrooms and drawing rooms.

Jute, Sisal, and hemp 

These are coarse rugs so don’t expect the softness or warmth of other natural materials from these rugs. However, they are great for patios and porches.

Bamboo silk

A great alternate for silk. This yarn is made from the bamboo plant and gives the same kind of shine and smoothness that silk imparts. Relatively cheaper than silk is it a great environmentally friendly alternative with the same effect.

Step 3 – Choose the right construction

The construction variety of the rug is another important factor to consider when looking at rugs online. The following are the most popular rug types:

Hand-knotted rug

These are made by the most skilled carpet weavers one knot at a time using ancient techniques. These carpets are of great quality and they are masterpieces that you can walk on. A hand-knotted rug is unique and is made knot by knot on a loom often using materials like silk, wool, bamboo silk, and cotton. These rugs have a flatter pile and the density of knots per square inch at the back of the carpet defines its quality. A carpet with more densely packed knots per square inch is considered a better-quality carpet. A typical Jaipur Rugs hand-knotted carpet can have anything upward of two million knots and it takes anywhere close to six to ten months to make a hand-knotted carpet depending on the intricacy of the design. A hand-knotted rug goes through 18 or more finishing steps before taking its final shape.

Hand-tufted rug

A hand-tufted carpet starts its journey as a canvas stretched on a frame, a tufting tool is used to punch strands of yarn into the canvas with the design traced on it. The process is not as intensive or time-consuming as that of a hand-knotted carpet and takes relatively less skill. The easiest way of identifying a hand-tufted carpet is by looking for the scrim backing on the reverse. A fringe is often added by gluing or sewing to finish the carpet.

Handwoven

Constructed without including any knots at all the parallel running fibers which make the length of the rug (warp) and those that run along the width (weft) make up the whole surface of the  rug.

Once you have these three things nailed, you will be able to make an informed choice when buying handmade rugs online.