INTRODUCTION TO CARPETS AND RUGS

PREPARED BY:MUHAMMAD ISMAIL AB KADIR

WHAT ARE CARPETS?

•Carpets are floorcoverings made as wall to wall, of wide width and long lengths which are usually installed onto the floor for a long time before they worn out and replaced.•Carpets are normally permanently fastened down to the floor•Carpets are normally machine made

WHAT ARE RUGS?

•Rugs are made in small pieces of certain sizes and can be relocated anywhere on the floor•Rugs can be produced by machines or hand made (expensive and requires a long time to produce)

WHERE ARE CARPETS USED?

Residential applications – houses, apartments, condominiums etc.Commercial applications – hotels, shopping complexes, retail stores, offices, cinemas, mosques.Automotive applications – car mats, flooring

TYPES OF CARPET CONSTRUCTION

1.Tufted carpets2.Axminster (Woven)3.Wilton (Woven)4.Velvet (Woven)5.Fusion Bonding (Nonwoven)6.Needlepunched (Nonwoven)7.Knitted carpets8.Hand-made rugs

A.TUFTED CARPETS

• Tufted carpets are accounts for 90% of the carpets produced today

• They are manufactured using the ‘tufting machine’ (the process is similar to embroidery)

• Yarn is inserted into backing material to form the face pile

• Once the carpet is finished, the backing is coated with synthetic latex adhesive to lock the fibers in place

• A secondary backing is then applied to provide dimensional stability

Figure: Loop-pile Tufting Sequence

Figure: Cut-pile Tufting Sequence

B. WOVEN CARPETS1.AXMINSTER CARPETS

They are normally used for residential and commercial applicationsAxminster weaving is widely used for the production of wool rugs, carpet squares, broadloom residential and contract carpets in multicoloured designs.Two principal types of machinery are manufactured: gripper-jacquard looms and spoolgripper looms.The tufts of yarn are secured between the warp and weft, row by row. Each tuft is individually placed and therefore different colors of yarns can be placed on the carpet

– The carpet backing is created during weaving– The patterns are created through Jacquard

mechanism and the weft insertion can be made through the single needle rapier system

– The finished carpet is then back-coated with light adhesive binder to enhance the dimensional stability of the carpet

– Main advantages of axminster carpets are:• high dimensional stability• good appearance retention• wide range of pattern effects and colors

2. WILTON

• A traditional wilton weave carpet is one in which the pile threads run continuously into the carpet and are raised above the surface of the integral backing by means of wires or hooks. The unused colours remain as “dead” yarns in the back.

• Wilton carpets are often cut or loop products, and different yarn types can be used to produce different surface textures.

• Wilton weaving is not as versatile as Axminster for the production of patterned carpets.

•A face to face wilton loom can weave two carpets at the same time, the resulting pile is always cut not loop but, by the use of different yarns, velvet or textured effects can be achieved.•For many years, Wilton woven carpets were considered to have better wear properties than Axminster but, with modern looms, Axminster carpets can be engineered to perform as well as, or better than, Wilton products.

3.VELVET

Velvet is the simplest weaving process, forming the pile by inserting wires between the pile and warp yarns. Pile height is set according to the height of the inserted wires. Velvet carpets are usually solid-colored, although modifying the loom may produce stripes and Moresque patterns.

A VELVET loom is almost the same as the WILTON loom mechanism.  Almost all of the face yarn is in the surface of the carpet, not hidden in the back.  Unlike, the WILTON, normally there is only one row of face yarns between the warp backing yarns. 

COMPARISON BETWEEN WOVEN CARPETS

C. NONWOVEN CARPETS 1.FUSION BONDING

Bonded carpet is produced by implanting loops or yarns directly onto an adhesive coated backing. This method of production differs from tufted carpet in that the yarns are not stitched into the primary backing before the adhesive is applied.

2. NEEDLEPUNCHED• A web laid either lengthwise, crossways or diagonally is mechanically consolidated on the needle machine and, at the same time, is needled into a loosely woven jute backing. The resulting material is then anchored using a latex binder and compressed and levelled on a press or calender.

D. KNITTED CARPETSAnother method of carpet construction is knitting. In this process, the pile backing and stitching yarns are looped together simultaneously by three sets of needles. It is similar to woven carpet but less stiff. The quality depends on the amount of pile yarn and the strength of attachment of the face, chain and backing yarns.Most knitted carpets are solid colored

E. HAND-MADE RUGSUsually, there are three main types of rugs i.e.:

• Room-size or room-fit rugs• Area or accent rugs• Throw or scatter rugs

Some construction styles of rugsBerbersHooked rugsRyasKilimsDhuriesOriental rugsNavajo rugsEtc….

TYPE OF PILE FIBERS•Wool•Nylon (Staple and Bicomponent fiber BFC)•Polyester (Staple)•Polypropylene (BCF)•Acrylic (staple)•Cotton•80/20 Wool/Nylon blend – best combination of fiber blends for residential carpets because this blend combines the softness, comfort and warmth of wool with the hard-wearing properties of nylon

"Velvet Plush" - A cut pile, twisted without heat. Fancy Throw rugs, not for walking on.

"Saxony Plush" - Piled yarns with a smooth, luxurious surface. Perfect for formal settings.

"Frieze" - Textured, highly twisted tufts, curl at the surface. Great for high traffic areas.

"Shag" - Textured twisted tufts, high traffic areas.

PILE TYPESCut pile

"Low Level Loop" - Generally used in Kitchen and Commercial Installations.

"Multi-Level Loop" - Piled yarn looped in multiple levels. Informal settings.

"Cut & Loop Sculpture" - Piled yarn types looped and cut to create a pattern.

"Cut & Loop" - Piled yarn types looped and cut to create a pattern. Great for Informal settings.

Loop pile

Cut and Loop pile