Hand-Knotted vs. Hand-Tufted Rugs: Which Is Which?

Looking for an authentic handmade rug might be a stretch for some, because some fall into the trap of buying something fake. While it may be easy to spot a handmade rug from something made by machine, not many people are aware of the differences.

If you are one of the few who can distinguish between machine-made and hand-woven, I’m giving a hat tip to you. Your next level of expertise should be to determine the difference between hand-tufted and hand-knotted rugs. These two types of rug weaving involve different skills and complexities, and may result to varying price tags or length of survival.

Hand-Knotted

Hand-knotted rugs involve manual knotting of strands, and needs a lot of time and effort to pull off. An experienced rug weaver can only do about 10,000 knots in a single day, and so making a single rug will take a very long time. This time-intensive creation process makes hand-knotted rugs more expensive than other handmade products.

Hand-Tufted

On the other hand, making hand-tufted rugs is easier because it uses a canvas and frame to weave the rug. The entire setup is laid out on a hand tool for easier weaving. Hand-tufted fabrics are completed faster than hand-knotted rugs. As a result, these rugs cost less than the hand-knotted counterparts, although the latter usually last longer.

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