Hand Knotted vs Hand Tufted Rugs: The Real Difference

A hand-knotted rug is built knot by knot on a loom, so the knots themselves are the structure. A hand-tufted rug is made by punching yarn through a backing cloth with a hand-held tool, then sealing the back with an adhesive and a second cloth.

Both involve skilled hands, both can be beautiful, and they are not the same thing. The difference shows in price, in how the rug can be cleaned and repaired, and in how long it will stay with you.

How is a hand-tufted rug made?

A hand-tufted rug is made by punching yarn through a stretched backing cloth, then sealing the back with latex and a second cloth.

The design is drawn onto a backing cloth stretched tight on a vertical frame. The tufter works from the back with a tufting gun, a hand-held tool that pushes a loop of yarn through the cloth with each pull of the trigger. Colour by colour, the design fills in.

The rug is then taken off the frame, the back is coated with latex to lock the tufts in place, and a second cloth is laid over it. Finally the loops are sheared to an even cut pile and the edges are bound.

It is quick compared with knotting, and it allows almost any drawing, from soft curves to sharp planes. The Bergamo Rug, drawn with a soft geometry that reads differently from across a room, and the Lucid Wool Rug, its planes folding in toward a single point, are both hand-tufted in New Zealand wool and start from about ₹40,000.

How is a hand-knotted rug made?

A hand-knotted rug starts with warp threads strung vertically on a loom. The weaver wraps a short length of yarn around a pair of warps, ties it, and cuts it, then moves to the next pair.

A row of knots is locked in with weft threads beaten down tight, and the next row begins. The density of those knots, often counted as knots per square inch, sets how fine the detail can be.

There is no glue and no secondary cloth. The fringe, where there is one, is the end of the warp itself.

The Stratum Knotted Rug in cinder, hand-knotted in New Zealand wool, is about ₹1.75 lakh in 9x12 ft. The Ithaca Rug, hand-knotted in wool, is about ₹1,15,500 in 8x10 ft.

How can you tell hand knotted from hand tufted?

The quickest test is to turn over a corner: a knotted rug shows its design on the back, a tufted rug shows plain cloth.

1. Turn over a corner. A tufted rug shows a plain cloth on the back, with no pattern. A knotted rug shows the design on the back almost as clearly as on the front, in rows of tiny knots.
2. Look at the fringe. On a knotted rug the fringe grows out of the body of the rug. On a tufted rug, any fringe is sewn on afterwards, or there is none.
3. Fold it. A knotted rug folds softly, like heavy cloth. A tufted rug feels stiffer because of the sealed back.
4. Smell it when new. A new tufted rug can carry a faint smell from the backing for the first days. Air the room and it passes.
5. Read the label. Every Rugberry product page states the technique. If a listing elsewhere is vague about construction, ask.

Why do hand-knotted rugs cost more?

Hand-knotted rugs cost more almost entirely because of hand time.

The gap between about ₹40,000 for a tufted rug and ₹1.15 lakh to ₹1.75 lakh for a knotted one is almost entirely hand time. A tufter fills a design with a tool that places a loop in a fraction of a second. A knotter ties each knot by hand, tens of thousands of them per square metre in a fine rug.

The yarn can be the same New Zealand wool, and the look from above can be close. What you are paying for in a knotted rug is structure.

That does not make a tufted rug a lesser purchase. For most rooms, a well made tufted wool rug gives the softness, colour and design an Indian family wants, at a price that does not make every spill a crisis.

What you are paying for in a knotted rug is structure.

How do they differ in daily use?

The biggest difference in daily use is water: a knotted rug can be washed through, while a tufted rug must stay dry underneath.

	Hand tufted	Hand knotted
Structure	Tufts held by latex and a backing cloth	Knots tied around warp threads
Cleaning	Keep the back dry, spot clean, professional dry methods	Can be washed in full by a specialist
Repair	Small areas can be re-tufted, backing can be replaced	Can be re-knotted, edges and fringe rebuilt
Early shedding	More, as cut loops settle	Less
Feel	Soft, even, plush	Dense and fine
Rugberry from price	About ₹36,000 upward	About ₹1.1 lakh upward

Water is the main difference

In an Indian home, water is the thing to plan for: a monsoon leak, a vase knocked over, a floor mopped too wet. A knotted rug can be washed through and dried.

A tufted rug should be kept dry underneath, because a soaked backing takes a long time to dry and can lose its grip on the tufts. If your living room floods at the door every July, that is a reason to choose knotted, or to keep the tufted rug well back from the entrance.

Should you buy hand knotted or hand tufted?

For a family room that sees daily life, choose hand tufted for its softness and price; for a rug meant to last through several homes, choose hand knotted.

• Choose hand tufted when you want a soft pile, a contemporary drawn design, or a rug for a family room that will see daily life. Bergamo and Lucid are good examples.
• Choose hand knotted when the rug is meant to stay with you through several homes, when you want the option of a full wash, or when the room is the one you have saved for. Stratum and Ithaca belong here.
• Do not choose by the word handmade alone. Both are made by hand. Ask how.

For more on the knotted side, read the charm of a hand-knotted rug and how Rugberry approaches hand knotting.

Frequently asked questions

Is a hand-tufted rug handmade?

Yes. It is made by hand with a hand-held tufting tool, and finished by hand. It is not knotted, and should never be sold as if it were.

Does a hand-knotted rug always last longer?

Built the same way from the same wool, a knotted rug has the stronger structure and can be washed and repaired more fully. How long any rug lasts still depends on traffic, sun, care and cleaning.

Why does my tufted rug shed more?

Tufting creates loops that are then cut, and short fibres from that shearing work loose in the first weeks. Vacuum on suction only and it settles.

Both are made by hand. Know which hand, and buy for the room.