A hand knotted Turkish carpet is made of natural materials. Historically speaking, Turkish rugs are made from similar materials as other Oriental and Persian rugs although they are of different qualities.
Above is a vintage Turkish Yagcibedir, one of the more easily recognizable types of Turkish rugs. This rug in particular has a wool pile woven on a cotton and wool mixed foundation. The weft threads are cotton, the warps are wool.
Wool in Turkish Rugs
Many Turkish carpets are woven with wool exclusively, especially when compared to their Persian counterparts which utilize cotton frequently for the foundation. Newer Turkish rugs are more likely to have cotton in their foundations than the older ones. Wool is typically hand spun for weaving in handmade Turkish rugs.
Materials Used in Kilims
Likewise, older Turkish Kilims are likely to have wool warp threads while newer Kilims often have cotton foundation.
Silk & Turkish Rugs
Turkish rugs may also be woven with silk. Specifically, Kayseri rugs are often woven with silk. It is important to be aware of artificial silk, also known as art silk which is also used in weaving newer Turkish rugs.
Dyes in Turkish Rugs
Antique Turkish rugs up until the early 1900's were exclusively made with wool dyed by natural dyes. After synthetic dyes came on the market there were some rugs woven with wool dyed synthetically while others still utilized vegetable dyes.
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