FLOOR COVERINGS THAT TELL A STORY

It’s thought the very first rug was most likely made in the Middle East of goat hair or sheep wool. This idea goes back to between 3,000 to 7,000 BCE. With everyone having spent a lot of time in their homes over the past few years, there’s a real interior design trend for  moving away from sleek, minimalist interiors to create homes that are cosier, more welcoming, more lived in. From natural materials like wool, jute and sisal to luxurious chunky loops offering luxury underfoot to super bold and expressive patterns and colours.

When it comes to choosing the material for your carpet, the main consideration is whether you prefer natural or synthetic. The most common materials used to make carpets include wool, nylon and polypropylene. When finding the best type of carpet for your home, whether it’s for the living room, bedroom or family room, you need to match quality with comfort and your budget. Consider the room you’re laying it in, how much foot-traffic there will be and exposure to stains. Apart from the material, what gives a carpet its warmth is its make, style and construction.

There are 4 main types of carpet construction:

• Woven: Woven carpet is made using a labour-intensive method whereby colours and decoration are woven in rather than printed onto the surface. A high-end product, it is usually made from 80 to 100 percent wool.
• Tufted: Tufted carpet is the most popular type, with a more varied choice of styles. It is made by punching the pile yarn into a backing fabric using needles, which produces cut and loop pile designs.
• Cut-pile: There are lots of variations of cut-pile carpets. These are sheared, revealing the fibre which makes them softer and a popular choice all over the home where comfort is key.
• Loop-pile: The more practical carpet type as it’s durable and often more stain resistant. The fibres are twisted into small loops, giving them a low profile.

From beautifying a space to hiding imperfections, reducing noise, and bringing in warmth, rugs do it all effortlessly. Source

The word “sari” means “strip of cloth” in Sanskrit, and is synonymous to India. Sari silk hand-knotted carpets are a product of natural materials. Hand knotted rugs are the finest quality of rugs. When used correctly, it will have long durability and will last for decades. These knotted rugs can have different qualities from low to high. Most of the time, since the recycled saree has uneven thickness, they are mostly woven in medium quality. Sari Silk And Wool (Mix) rugs are an exclusive work of art, and rely on the assemblage of sari waste. The blend of various sari silk and the lustre from the silk fabricates the carpet assuredly precious.

Saree silk and the wool combination is not that common, at least not as common as the saree silk all alone. The composition of sari silk rugs are very soft, silky, and the obtainability of these carpets are quite precise in counts. Gathered sari silk from various places is the reason for not getting a consistent colour in these rugs. Colours are composed of different shades and tones, and generally, there are about more than forty tones on single colourant collectively mixed. Sari silk is used in the raw condition preferably rather than dying it again, these aspects usually play a vital role in the diverse designs and uniqueness of these carpets. 

These carpets are highly appraised among the customers, owing to their stylish looks and are woven skillfully by expert craftsmen. Source

Ishrat Sahgal, the founder of Mishcat Co found her inspiration in this concept. Mishcat Co was founded in 2013 as a means to bridge the gap between museum-like floor coverings and boring dhurries. The bespoke carpets made by the company use  sari yarn which is leftover scrap after creating saris. This is collected from independent sari weavers in the South. It is new, unused, and high-quality yarn that would otherwise be discarded.

This yarn is then woven into skeins (a length of thread or yarn, loosely coiled and knotted) which are then used in the carpets. Once the sari yarn is collected, a design blueprint is used to hand knot each carpet. The blueprint is like an outline of a colouring book, within which the weaver does each knot. Where would each hue and each speckle go is attentively worked on by the weaver. Once woven, a carpet is then sheared, finished, washed and ready for deliveries.

This upcycle is reducing waste by repurposing it into something incredibly inspired. They’re not your run-of-the-mill factory carpets being produced in bulk, these carpets handmade with the collaboration of artisans in small villages in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

The company boasts a beautiful array of uniquely designed carpets. Source

You can treat saree silk area rugs like other silk rugs such as viscose carpets and bamboo silk carpets. They are durable and suitable for a medium level of foot traffic. It would be best if you vacuumed them regularly to remove dirt and dust to keep them fresh. 

Caption: These versatile carpets give life to fabric that would otherwise be scrap. (Source: https://mishcatco.com/products/gujaseablue)

MATERIAL DEPOTS QUICK 5

• BRAND : MISHCAT CO.
• CATAGORY: CARPETS
• APPLICATION: HOME DECOR
• USP: VEGAN LEATHER
• NOTABLE PROJECTS: ITC BELLA VISTA, RESIDENCES ACROSS THE WORLD RANGING FROM INDIA, ENGLAND, USA TO NAME A FEW

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