Braided Rugs

Braided Rugs are a staple American product. Back in the Colonial days, these rugs could be made from old clothes, empty sacks, and other materials that are laying around. These rugs provide protection and comfort to any home they inhabit. Braided rugs are made in a multitude of ways that allow for high effeciency and high cost effectiveness. Because of the density of a braided rug, they can withstand quite a lot of use and they are easy to clean.

What makes a good braided rug?
Classic Weavers used to produce some high quantity rugs before going out of business, this gives us a lot of unique insight into what is a quality rug in any style. For many naive buyers, they believe that the main part of a rug is in the name that precedes it aka Indian, Persian, Braided. In reality, you can buy Indian Rugs of extremely low quality and Machine Rugs of extremely high quality! It is a very comon misconception. Here is a brief guide on things you should look for in your purchasing desicions.

Uniformity
One of the critical features of a rug is its uniformity. This being how flat it can lay on a surface. For thick pile carpets, this is a measurement of how well they can create a flat surface over uneven terrain. For Thin piles, this is an estimation of how well it can contour to the terrain it is over. If the uniformity is poor, then this rug immediately becomes a hazard and many homeowners have to hide them when being audited for insurance. Also, if the corners flare up upon purchase, then within months of use, you can expect it to get worse and rapidly become unsuable.

Pile Height
When chosing a Braided Rug, this is not aplicable. However, for knotted carpets, this is a very important design choice. High pile carpets are either, of a traditional design with a focus on functionality, or a modern design with a focus on aesthetics. When purchasing a high pile rug, you will very rarely find the Bukhara or other prints, simply because they are too detailed for high pile knotting. However, you are very likely to find sleek modern designs. For Low Pile rugs, expect traditional aesthetic rugs or modern functional rugs. The modern functional includes many kitchen rugs of coffee shop style rugs. The traditional aesthetic low pile rugs are however the standard in highest fashion and price as the designs are very ornate.

Density of Knots
The true effect of knot density is a highly debated question. The usual range is from 30-300 Knots per square inch(kpi). Many low quality rugs may have upwards of 100 knots per square inch whilst some high quality ones may have a coarse 45-60 kpi. This is because kpi is not 100% correlated to the feel of a carpet. However, KPI is related to price because the extra knots are labor intensive. Therefore, for highest and longest lasting value, expect to look at higher kpi.

Material
No matter which style of rug you are interested in, there is always the question of what material to have it made out of. The material will change everything from comfort and placement, to long term cost of maintainence and cost of cleaning. Synthetic rugs are often much shorter lived, not because they fall apart, but rather because they have a lower perceived value and are therefore often replaced rather than refreshed. Furthermore, Wool or organic fibers are a signifigantly higher maintainance. Often times they require a specialized cleaning method, a professional cleaner, and weekly maintainence. These rugs are often subjected to damage that synthetic rugs may not be such as ripling, shrinking, or expansion. It can be a very tough decision to pick between a synthetic polyester/nylon and the organic wool/cotton and the decision carries long term weight.

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