Why Handmade Rugs Cost What They Do

A handmade rug costs more because three things cannot be hurried: the fibre, the hours of hand work, and the finishing after it leaves the loom. A machine made rug saves on all three, and the difference shows in how it feels and how long it keeps its looks.

Why does a handmade rug cost more than a machine made one?

Because a person does, slowly, what a power loom does in minutes. A machine made rug is woven at speed from yarn on industrial spools, often a synthetic one, and can be produced by the hundred in one design.

A handmade rug is built one at a time. Even when two are made to the same drawing, each is set up, worked and finished by hand, and that time is the largest part of what you pay for.

The fair comparison, then, is not handmade against machine made at the same price. It is what each one gives back over the years you live with it.

What does the fibre add to the price?

Fibre is the first line of cost. New Zealand wool is spun from fleece selected for length and spring, so it holds its shape, takes dye evenly and resists flattening better than short or coarse wool.

Finer fibres cost more again. The Cashmere Blend Rug in natural is handloom woven in a wool and cashmere blend, fine, dense and very soft underfoot, and it starts from AED 4,900 in 5x8 ft / 150x240 cm. A hand tufted New Zealand wool rug of the same size, such as the Ivory Wool Rug, starts from AED 2,900.

Synthetic yarns sit at the other end. Polypropylene is cheap and bright, but it does not have wool's lanolin or its natural spring, so it tends to crush and hold oily marks.

Where does the hand time go?

Hand time depends on the construction, and it varies more than most buyers expect.

• Hand knotted: every tuft is tied around a pair of warp threads on an upright loom, row after row. A large rug can hold several hundred thousand knots, and the loom is occupied for the whole time it takes.
• Handloom and handwoven: the weft is passed through the warp and beaten down by hand, line by line. Quicker than knotting, but every centimetre is still worked by a weaver.
• Hand tufted: yarn is punched through a stretched cloth with a hand-held tool, following a drawing on the cloth. It is the fastest of the three, which is a large part of why most of the Rugberry range is hand tufted.

The glossary entry on knot density explains why a finer knotted rug takes longer still.

Two rugs can share a colour and a size and still sit far apart in price. The difference is hand time.

What happens after a rug leaves the loom?

Finishing is the part buyers rarely see, and it can take as long as some of the making. Each step is done by hand.

• Washing: the rug is washed with water to clean it, settle the fibre and bring out the colour, then dried flat.
• Shearing: the pile is clipped to an even height, so the surface reads as one plane.
• Carving: on designs with outlines, a craftsperson cuts a fine channel along the edge of each shape with hand shears, so the pattern stands out in relief.
• Binding: edges are wrapped or whipped with yarn so they do not fray.

Skip these steps and a rug looks flat and uneven, and its edges loosen early. They are part of the price for a reason.

Why do two similar looking rugs differ so much in price?

Because construction and fibre both move the price, even when the size matches. The Savannah Jute Rug in natural is hand knotted in jute and listed at AED 6,700 in 8x10 ft / 240x300 cm. The Kora Jute Rug, handwoven in the same fibre, is AED 3,900 in the same size.

A hand tufted New Zealand wool rug in 8x10 ft, such as the Ivory Wool Rug, is AED 5,800. Wool is the dearer fibre, yet the tufted rug is the cheaper of the two, because tufting takes far less time than knotting. The knotted jute rug costs more than its woven twin because the loom time is longer, and because a knotted rug has no adhesive to age.

For a dry living room you plan to keep for a long time, the knotted rug is the stronger investment; for a bedroom or a rented apartment, a tufted wool rug gives a softer, denser pile. Our comparison of hand-knotted and hand tufted rugs shows the craft side by side.

How do you compare a handmade rug with a marketplace listing?

Read the listing the way you would read a fabric label. Four checks separate a handmade rug from a lookalike.

1. The fibre line. Wool, wool and silk, jute or cashmere blend should be named outright. "Wool feel" or "silk touch" usually means synthetic.
2. The construction. Hand knotted, handloom, handwoven or hand tufted should be stated. "Handmade look" is not a construction.
3. The back. A knotted rug shows the pattern on its back; a tufted rug has a cloth backing; a machine made rug shows a perfectly regular grid.
4. The weight. Wool rugs are heavy for their size. A very light rug at the same size is usually synthetic.

Our guide to wool and silk rugs looks at the finer fibres in more detail.

Frequently asked questions

Is a handmade rug worth the higher price?

For a room you use every day, usually yes. A handmade wool rug keeps its shape and colour longer than most machine made synthetics and can be cleaned and repaired rather than replaced.

Why is hand knotting so much more expensive than hand tufting?

Hand knotting ties every tuft individually around the warp threads, which takes many times longer than punching yarn through a backing cloth. The price follows that loom time.

Are all Rugberry rugs hand knotted?

No. Most of the Rugberry range is hand tufted in New Zealand wool or wool and silk, with handloom ranges such as Grain and Plush, and a smaller group of hand knotted rugs such as the Savannah Jute Rug.

Does a handmade rug cost more than a machine made rug to look after?

Not really. Regular vacuuming and prompt blotting of spills suit both, though a wool rug benefits from professional cleaning every few years rather than a home wash.

Pay for fibre and hand time, not for a label. Material first.