A carpet is any loom-woven, felted textile or grass floor covering. The term was also used for table and wall coverings, as carpets were not commonly used on the floor in European interiors until the 18th century. The hand-knotted pile carpet probably originated in Central Asia between the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC. Carpet-making was introduced to Spain in 10th century by the Moors. The Crusades brought Turkish carpets to all of Europe, where they were primarily hung on walls or used on tables. Only with the opening of trade routes in the 17th century were significant numbers of Persian rugs introduced to Western Europe.Some use the words carpet and rug interchangeably. Historically, however, some have distinguished between carpet and rug based on size (the former being larger) or use (carpets on floors, rugs on beds or on the hearth). For the sake of clarity, some textile scholars also differentiate between carpets and carpeting. In this usage, the latter are wall-to-wall and are often woven or tufted as "roll goods", most often in 12 foot widths but sometimes in up to 15 foot widths. In the real estate and home improvement industries a distinction is made between carpet (or carpeting) and rug. The former indicates a covering that is affixed to a floor and the latter a floor covering that is loose-laid, most often for decorative purposes.

The global carpet market for domestic and industrial end use is dominated by three manufacturing processes:

The carpet is produced on a loom similar to woven cloth and is a cut pile. Normally many coloured yarns are used and this process is capable of producing intricate patterns from pre-determined designs. These carpets are normally the highest value on the market.

The carpet is produced on a tufting machine using a single coloured or sometimes non coloured yarn. If non coloured yarn is used the carpet will be dyed or printed with a design as a separate process. Tufted carpets can be either cut pile, loop pile or a combination of both. Tufting machines produce many more meters of carpet per hour than weaving does and normally are at the low to medium end of the market. Modern tufting technology now enables the production of mainly basic geometric patterns.

These carpets are more technologically advanced. Needlefelts are produced by electrostatic attraction of individual synthetic fibers forming a unique carpet with extremely high durability. These carpets are normally found in the contract market such as hotels etc. where there is a lot of traffic.

A flatweave carpet is created by interlocking warp (vertical) and weft (horizontal) threads. Types of oriental flatwoven carpet include kilim, soumak, plain weave, and tapestry weave. Types of European flatwoven carpets include Venetian, Dutch, damask, list, haircloth, and ingrain (aka double cloth, two-ply, triple cloth, or three ply).

A hooked rug is a simple type of rug handmade by pulling strips of cloth such as wool or cotton through the meshes of a sturdy fabric such as burlap. This type of rug is now generally made as a handicraft.

On a knotted pile carpet (formally, a supplementary weft cut-loop pile carpet), the structural weft threads alternate with a supplementary weft that rises from the surface of the weave at a perpendicular angle. This supplementary weft is attached to the warp by one of three knot types (see below) to form the pile or nap of the carpet.

In the late 19th century moquette came to mean wall-to-wall carpeting. However, its historical usage refers to supplementary warp cut or uncut loop pile made on a draw loom . These textiles have a low pile and are thinner than hand knotted pile carpets. This form of carpeting, made as early as the 16th century, is constructed on a mechanized loom like velvet: the supplementary warps loop under the weft and are attached without forming a knot. Because of the loom structure only five colors can be used to create the design. Moquette is woven in relatively narrow panels (usually 27"or 36"). Larger works are composed of several stripes sewn together. Moquette carpets have been used on floors, tables, as furniture upholstery, and wall coverings. Production was improved with the application of the Jacquard mechanism (see Jacquard loom) in 1812 in France and c. 1825 in England. The addition of steam power in the mid-19th century further improved manufacturing capabilities.

Swatches of Berber carpet Unlike woven carpets, embroidery carpets are not formed on a loom. Their pattern is established by the application of stitches to a cloth (often linen) base. The tent stitch and the cross stitch are two of the most common.

Embroidered carpets were traditionally made by royal and aristocratic women in the home, however, there has also been some commercial manufactory since the 16th century. That century saw a rise in production due to the introduction of steel needles (earlier needles were made of bone) and improvement in linen weaving. Mary Stewart Queen of Scots is known to have been an avid embroiderer. 16th century designs usually involve scrolling vines and regional flowers (for example, the Bradford carpet). They often incorporate animal heraldry and the coat of arms of the maker. Production continued through the 19th century. Victorian embroidered carpet compositions include highly illusionistic, 3-dimensional flowers. Patterns for tiled (composed of a series of squares) carpets, called Berlin wool work, were introduced in Germany in 1804. They became extremely popular in England in the 1830s.

Both flat and pile carpets are woven on a loom. Both vertical and horizontal looms have been used in the production of European and Oriental carpets. The warp threads are set up on the frame of the loom before weaving begins. A number of weavers may work together on the same carpet. A row of knots is completed and cut. The knots are secured with (usually 1 to 4) rows of weft. There are two main types of knot: symmetrical (also called: Turkish or Ghiordes and asymmetrical (also called: Persian or Senna). Other knotting styles may be found but these two are the primary techniques used.

Flag of Turkmenistan Contemporary centers of oriental carpet production are: Pakistan, India, Turkey, Northern Africa, the Caucasus, Iran, Nepal, Turkmenistan, and Tibet. The importance of carpets in the culture of Turkmenistan is such that the

national flag features a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet gulls (designs used in producing rugs).

When buying a modern carpet from Asia, many consumers wish to ensure that it has

not been made using child labour. A labeling scheme in throughout Europe and North America has been therefore created called Rugmark. Importers pay for the labels which pays for monitoring in the centres of production and for education of previously exploited children.

Carpet may be made from any fiber either natural or synthetic or a blend of any. There are infinite possibilities in yarn manufacture but the constraints are normally durability, aesthetic character and cost. The most important yarn constructions found on the world carpet market in the pile formation are:

Wool & wool blended with synthetic fibers: Wool has excellent durability, can be dyed easily and is fairly abundant. When blended with synthetic fibers such as nylon the durability of wool is increased. Blended wool yarns are extensively used in production of modern carpet.

Nylon: This is the most popular synthetic fiber used in carpet production. Nylon can be dyed topically or dyed in a molten state otherwise known as solution dying. Nylon can be printed easily and has excellent wear characteristics. In carpets Nylon tends to stain easily because it possesses dye sites on the fiber. These dye sites need to be filled in order to give Nylon any type of stain resistance. Nylon is a petroleum based product and therefore varies in price directly reflecting current oil prices.

Polypropylene: This polymer is used to produce carpet yarns mainly because of economy. Polypropylene is difficult to dye and does not wear as well as wool or nylon. Carpets made from this fiber are usually only suited for light domestic use.

Polyester: Polyester Also known as "2GT" or "PET" is also a viable carpet fiber. It is used in carpet manufacturing in both spun and filament constructions. With increased raw material costs in the early 2000s, polyester can offer an alternative fiber that can give good physical properties at competitive prices. Polyester is inherently stain resistant because it is hydrophobic, and does not have dye sites that nylon fibers have. Color is infused in a molten state or more commonly known as "solution dyed". Polyester does have a down side, this fiber tends to crush or mat down easily, and is typically used in mid to low end carpeting

Sorona: The Sorona polymer, or otherwise known as "3GT" or "PTT" is a variant of Polyester. Invented by the DuPont corporation, Mohawk Industries exclusively uses this polymer in making carpet, under the name "SmartStrand". The product is similar to Polyester, however Sorona molecules have a "kink", similar to a spring, that makes the fiber more crush resistant, resilient, and easy to clean. Sorona is derived from Corn and uses the Glucose from the Corn to create this polymer. Sorona also does not have dye sites, and is inherently stain resistant because color is infused in a molten state. Carpets made with the Sorona polymer dry quickly and are resistant to mold. For the binding in woven carpet it is usually cotton. and the weft is jute.

Carpet binding is a term used for any material being applied to the edge of a carpet to make a rug. Carpet binding is usually cotton or nylon, but also comes in many other materials, such as leather.

Early carpets

The Pazyryk Carpet

The hand-knotted pile carpet probably originated in Central

Asia between the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC. The earliest surviving pile carpet in the world is called the "Pazyryk Carpet". It is usually dated to the 5th century BC. It was excavated by Sergei Ivanovich Rudenko in 1949 from a Siberian burial ground where it had been preserved in ice in the valley of Pazyryk. The origin of this carpet is debated. It has been proposed to be a product of either the Iranian Scythians or the Persian.

Achaemenids.

This carpet is 200 x 183 cm (6'6" x 6'0") and has 360,000 knots/m². The earliest group of surviving knotted pile carpets were produced under Seljuk rule, in the first

half of the 13th century, on the Anatolian peninsula. The eighteen extant works are often referred to as the Konya Carpets. The central field of these large carpets is an overall geometric repeat pattern. The borders are ornamented with a large-scale, stylized, angular calligraphy called Kufic, pseudo-Kufic, or Kufesque.

Persian and Anatolian carpets

The Persian carpet is an essential part of Persian (Iranian) art and culture. Carpet-weaving is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished manifestations of Persian culture and art, and dates back to the Bronze Age. The earliest surviving corpus of Persian carpets come from the Safavid dynasty (1501-1736) in the 16th century. However, painted depictions prove a longer history of production. There is much variety among classical Persian carpets of the 16th and 17th century. Common motifs include scrolling vine networks, arabesques, palmettos, cloud bands, medallions, and overlapping geometric compartments rather than animals and humans. This is because Islam, the dominant religion in that part of the world, forbids their depiction. Still, some show figures engaged either in the hunt or feasting scenes. The majority of these carpets are wool, but several silk examples produced in Kashan survive.

Oriental carpets in Europe

Oriental carpets began to appear in Europe after the Crusades in the 11th century. Until the mid-18th century they were mostly used on walls and tables. Except in royal or ecclesiastical settings they were considered too precious to cover the floor. Starting in the 13th century Oriental carpets begin to appear in paintings (notably from Italy, Flanders, England, France, and the Netherlands). Carpets of Indo-Persian design were introduced to Europe via the Dutch, British, and French East India Companies of the 17th and 18th century.

Spanish carpets

Although isolated instances of carpet production pre-date the Muslim invasion of Spain, the Hispano-Moresque examples are the earliest significant body of Europeanmade carpets. Documentary evidence shows production beginning in Spain as early as the 10th century AD. The earliest extant Spanish carpet, the so-called Synagogue carpet, is a unique survival dated to the 14th century. The earliest group of Hispano-Moresque carpets, Admiral carpets (also know as armorial carpets), has an all-over geometric, repeat pattern punctuated by blazons of noble, Christian Spanish families. The variety of this design was analyzed most thoroughly by May Beattie. Many of the 15th-century, Spanish carpets rely heavily on designs originally developed on the Anatolian Peninsula. Carpet production continued after the Reconquest of Spain and eventual expulsion of the Muslim population in the 15th century. 16th-century Renaissance Spanish carpet design is a derivative of silk textile design. Two of the most popular motifs are wreaths and pomegranates.

French carpets

In 1608 Henry IV initiated the French production of "Turkish style" carpets under the direction of Pierre Dupont. This production was soon moved to the Savonnerie factory in Chaillot just west of Paris. The earliest, well-known group produced by the Savonnerie, then under the direction of Simon Lourdet, are the so-called Louis XIII carpets. This is a misnomer, however, as they were produced in the early years of Louis XIV's reign (circa 1743-1761). They are densely ornamented with flowers,sometimes in vases or baskets. The designs are based on Netherlandish and Flemish textiles and paintings. The most famous Savonnerie carpets are those made for the Grande Galerie and Galerie d'Apollon in the Louvre between c. 1665-1685.These 105 masterpieces, made under the artistic direction of Charles Le Brun, were never installed as Louis XIV moved to Versailles in 1678. Their design combines rich acanthus leaves, architectural-style framing, and mythological scenes (inspired by Cesare Ripa's Iconologie) with emblems of Louis XIV's royal power. Pierre-Josse Perrot is the most well-known of the mid-18th-century carpet designers. His many surviving works and drawings display graceful rococo s-scrolls, central rosettes, shells, acanthus leaves, and floral swags. The Savonnerie manufactory was moved to the Gobelins in Paris in 1826. The Beauvais manufactory, better known for their tapestry, made knotted pile carpets from 1780 to 1792. Carpet production in small, privately owned workshops in the town of Aubusson began in 1743. Carpets produced in France employ the symmetrical knot.

English carpets

Knotted pile carpet weaving technology probably came to England in the early 16th century with Flemish Calvinists fleeing religious persecution. Because many of these weavers settled in South-eastern England in Norwich the 14 extant 16th and 17th century carpets are sometimes referred to as "Norwich carpets." These works are either adaptations of Anatolian or Indo-Persian designs or employ Elizabethan-Jacobean scrolling vines and blossoms. All but one are dated or bear a coat of arms. Like the French, English weavers used the symmetrical knot. There are documented and surviving examples of carpets from three 18th-century manufactories: Exeter (1756-1761, owned by Claude Passavant, 3 extant carpets), Moorfields (1752-1806, owned by Thomas Moore, 5 extant carpets), and Axminster (1755-1835, owned by Thomas Whitty, numerous extant carpets). Exeter and Moorfields were both staffed with renegade weavers from the French Savonnerie and, therefore, employ the weaving structure of that factory and Perrot-inspired designs. Neoclassical designer Robert Adam supplied designs for both Moorfields and Axminster carpets based on Roman floor mosaics and coffered ceilings. Some of the most well-known rugs of his design were made for Syon House, Osterley Park House, Harewood House, Saltram House, and Newby Hall. Six of Axminster carpets are known as the "Lansdowne" group. These have a tripartite design with reeded circles and baskets of flowers in the central panel flanked by diamond lozenges in the side panels. Axminster Rococo designs often have a brown ground and include birds copied from popular, contemporary engravings. Carpets will forever be associated with the town of Kidderminster in Worcestershire, United Kingdom. This was the heart of the UK carpet industry throughout the industrial revolution. Even now, a large percentage of the 55,000 population town still seek employment in this industry.

Scandinavian carpets

The traditional Scandinvian and Finnish carpet is the rya, made from hand-knotted wool. Dating from the 15th century, the first ryas were coarse, long-piled, heavy covers used by fishermen instead of furs. The rugs became lighter and more ornamental. By the 19th century they were often splendid festive tapestries. Now, the rya is a painting in textile, with individual artists identifiable by the colors, patterns and techniques.

Modern carpeting and installation

Berber carpeting. Carpeting is an attached floor covering made of a heavy, thick fabric, usually woven or felted, often wool, but also cotton, hemp, straw, or a synthetic counterpart. Polypropylene, commonly called Olefin, is a very common pile yarn, as is nylon. It is typically knotted or glued to a base weave. It is made in breadths of 12 or 15 feet to be cut, seamed with a seaming iron and seam tape (formerly it was sewn together) and affixed to a floor over a cushioned underlay (pad) using nails, tack strips (known in the UK as carpet rods or stair rods, when used on stairs), (gripper) or adhesives, thus distinguishing it from a rug or mat which are loose-laid floor coverings. Carpeting which covers an entire room area is loosely referred to as 'wall-to-wall,' but carpet can be installed over any portion thereof with use of appropriate transition moldings where the carpet meets other types of floor coverings. Carpeting is more than just a single item; it is, in fact, a system comprising the carpet itself, the carpet backing (often made of latex), the cushion, and a method of installation. 'Carpet tiles' are squares of carpet, typically 0.5m square, that can be used to cover a floor. They are usually only used in commercial settings and often are not affixed to a floor in order to allow access to the subfloor (in an office environment, for example) or to allow rearrangement in order to spread wear. Modern carpeting is often attached to the floor (or stairways) of a building and, when considered permanently attached, would be part of the real property which includes the building.

BC6000 Evidence of goats and sheep being sheared for wool and hair and then spun and woven.

AD1000 Marco Polo confirms rug making in Central Anatolia. From there the technique spread through the Caucasus, Turkomania, Persia, Meshed, Herat, Kabul, India and Kashmir. Traders took rugs to Samarkand, Bokhara, Tashkent, Sinkiang and Peking, the craft swept through Tunisia, Biskra, Bou Saada, Marakesh and Fez.

1537 Robert Rothe imports weavers from the East to make rug on his estate in Kilkenny.

1540 Cardinal Wolsey imports Turkie rugs to England.

1550 Carpet knotting exhibited by Richard Hickey.

1570 Verulam carpet made for Elizabeth 1st.

1580 Aubusson carpet centre set up in Beauvair.

1586 Ardebil carpet made (now in Victoria Albert Museum, London) Made by Maksud the Keshani.

1596 Pierre DuPont starts weaving carpets.

1619 Inventory on Naworth Castle mentions Kidderminster Fote Cloths.

1655 Carpet factory built at Wilton.

1685 Huguenot weavers flee France some settle in England and start weaving in Wilton.

1699 Wilton carpet weavers received Royal Charter.

1720 Earl of Pembroke persuades weavers from Savonnerie factory to work in Wilton and teach locals to make Brussels carpet.

1735 Pearsall & Broome set up in Kidderminster making reversible double (Kidder) cloth.

1745 Broome brings weavers from Tournai to Kidderminster.

1749 Dufossy developed method to cut loops of Brussels weave to make a nap. This became known as Wilton carpet.

1750 Peter Parisot sets up carpet weaving in Paddington with two Savonnerie weavers, under patronage of Duke of Cumberland. He moved to larger premises near the Golden Lion Inn in Fulham.

1755 the factory was brought by Passavant who moved plant to Exeter.

1755 Moore opened in Moorfield and Whitty opened in Axminster closing in 1835 and looms moved to Wilton. Original hand knotted looms still in operation at Wilton.

1756 - 1759 Royal Society of Arts presented premiums for finest carpets. Won by Whitty three times and Passavant once.

1770 - 1790 Hand made carpet making flourished and attracted designers such as the Adam Brothers and Laverton.

1770 Brintons, previously cloth makers, started making carpets. The dynasty still exists and is the largest privately owned carpet company in the UK.

1790 Whitty makes carpet for Throne Room at Carlton House and Brighton Pavilion and supplied £1000 carpet to Sultan of Turkey.

1801 Jacquard invents method of presenting different coloured yarn to weaving face. Revolutionizing patterned fabric making the system.

1810 Decline in fine hand made carpets due to Napoleonic War and competition from machine made. More looms introduced in Kidderminster, Yorkshire and Scotland.

1824 Three ply fabric commenced in Kilmarnock.In America, hand knotted rugs and rag rugs made plus imports from England.

1791 Sprague opens carpet factory in Philadelphia.

1750 - 1850 Industrial development in England. Population increase from 7 million to 18 million. End of cottage industries. Industrial revolution brought textile inventions by Hargreaves, Arkwright, Crompton. Cartwright and Watt's steam engine.

1803 Crossley Carpets start in Halifax.

1832 Whytock invents method to print yarn and then weave it into flat fabric with design incorporated. Tapestry Carpet Loom. Start of Henry Widnell Stewart Ltd in Edinburgh later bought by Stoddard - who still manufacture carpet.

1837 James works with Quigley to perfect the Chenille Axminster loom. Chenille expanded to meet demand for large seamless patterned carpets at an economic price. Chenille eventually succumbed in 1968. It grew to a multi-million company over 150 years and were bought by Stoddard around 1970. Quigley took his share and disappeared in America around 1850.

1839 Erasmus Bigelow in America invents power loom to make double ingrain and sold it to Scottish and English manufacturers who installed steam power. In 1951 he introduced a steam powered Brussels loom at the Great Exhibition and demonstrated it at Hoobrook in Kidderminster which eventually Crossley purchased it.

1852 William Grosvenor built steam driven factory in Green Street, Kidderminster, where the company still occupies in a listed building.

1862 Alfred Stoddard, an American, took over the tapestry factory of Ronalds at Elderslie, near Glasgow, to make carpets. By 1867 he was selling 75% in America. Stoddard now owns and still make carpets on the original site.

1878 Spool Axminster, invented by Halcyon Skinner in America, introduced into England by Tomkinson and Adam in Kidderminster. Morris opened hand knotting factory Hammersmith. Morris designs still produced on Wilton looms.

1880 William Gray of Ayr develops seamless Kidder carpets.

1890 Brintons develop Gripper Axminster with efficiency advantages over traditional Spool. Later the two techniques were combined in Spool-Gripper.

1896 Donegal hand made factory set up.

1905 Brintons produce carpet from first power driven wide loom 15 ft wide.

1927 David Crabtree, loom builders since 1853, start to export wide Gripper looms, three yards or three metres wide. 10 ft 6in introduced in 1932.

1930 Decline in Tapestry carpet in favour of huge increase in Gripper Axminster especially for "Seamless Squares".

1940 - 50 Tufted carpets developed in USA from candlewick weaving techniques.

1960Chenille Axminster disappeared under avalanche of tufted carpet.

1950 - 1970 Tufted carpet limited to plan yarn effects but gradually printing white carpet improved.

1970 - 1995 Woven Carpet production declined by 70% but tufted production increased by 300% (UK).

1995 Fully patterned tufted carpets produced in England by Ryalux Carpets. Individual coloured yarns presented to substrate effectively for the first time. Patterned tufted carpet produced to rival woven (Gripper Axminster and Figured Wilton) carpets.

2000 Carpet choice has never been so diverse, and hopefully will continue to grow and expand.