All About Hand-Tufted Wool Rugs

Hand-tufted wool rugs use superior quality wool to mimic the high quality and durability of a hand-knotted rug - but without the time consuming task of tying knots in the wool.  This allows hand-tufted rugs to be created in a much shorter time frame, which in turn brings down the cost.  However, this perfected process manages to maintain a high level of beauty and durability in the area rugs.

Hand-tufted wool rugs are created using a tufting gun.  This tool pushes loops of wool through a backing which also acts as a template for the rug design.  This template can be custom made to whatever design the rug designer chooses.  When the designer or manufacturer has finished feeding all the wool loops into the backing, a layer of latex glue acting as the foundation is applied to the underside holding all the loops in place.  When dry, a bottom layer of cloth is usually used to create a soft, flat base to the area rug.  The final step is trimming the top of the loops gives the rug a flat unified finish, which ultimately creates the pile of the rug. 

This process of making a hand-tufted rug is the perfect combination for designers aiming to make area rugs that are not only a beautiful contemporary design, but very usable in everyday homes.  These type rugs can easily withstand high traffic areas such as a hallway or family room.  They will only begin to show signs of wear after 10 to 15 years of use, due to their high quality foundation.  The life can of course be indefinite with proper and regular maintenance in medium to low traffic areas.

While hand-tufted rugs may not be true one-of-a-kind collector quality rugs, they carry the same appearance and unique design properties.  They are made of the same superb textiles as handmade rugs, wool or cotton, but obtainable at a fraction of the price.

Domestic Modern offers many different hand-tufted modern rugsfrom various popular area rug designers.