Rug Durability
A machine rug has a lifespan of around two decades or much less hugely depending on the fiber and quality used. It is also possible for high quality machine made rugs, such as wool made rugs, to last for a very long time in case they are well maintained. Collectors do not attach any value to machine made rugs, whether they are of a higher quality or not.
Rugs Cost
The price of the Oriental rug and machine made rugs differ a lot. While an Oriental rug is very expensive, a machine made rug costs much less and is an alternative to expensive hand knotted or hand-woven rugs. However, countries of origin like Persia, India, China, Egypt and Afghanistan, do offer significantly cheaper handmade Oriental rugs at a fraction of the price at which they are offered in Canada and other parts of North America. So, it may be worth it to travel to those countries if you are interested in purchasing a quality handmade Oriental rug.
Machine Made Rugs
Machine made rugs are usually made using power looms, which are essentially large machines. The power loom is automated electrically and computer controlled. As a result, rugs made by machines are manufactured very fast using materials such as synthetic fibers and wool like art silk, acrylic, polyester, nylon and polypropylene. Machine-made generally don’t try to imitate hand-made rugs and look perfect in design.
Visual Handmade Oriental Rugs Differences
There is always a very strong difference between a handmade and machine made rug visually. This is so especially on the machine-made rug’s back which is very distinct in terms of appearance to a handmade rug’s back. You will find the design of the machine made rug’s back not as colourful as the back of the hand-woven Oriental rug. The face and back of the machine rug are very different in terms of colour and there is a reason for this. While the machine made rug has its edges machine overstitched and a fringe applied, the handmade Oriental rug has the edge overcast using the hand as the fringe is essentially the warp strings’ end and not one that has been sewn upon it. The machine made rug has overstitch patterns running across its back and distinguishing individual knots appearing on the back are not easy to find. In fact, for the machine-made rug, the overstitch construction is generally what keeps the pile material held together. This means that the fringe is applied on a machine made rug once it has been completed while the hand-woven Oriental rug has its fringe as a part of warp strings as they leave the handmade rug’s end.
Wool Pile
It is worth noting handmade rugs in most cases have wool pile used to weave them. A rug made by a machine is mostly made through the use of a polyester or nylon pile while weaving is very uniform. Towards the rug’s back, you might find some white thread weaves from one end of the fringe to the other. You might also not see any white threads in the rug at all.
