Tufting is the wool equivalent of oil painting on canvas. The wool yarn is pushed through a stretched canvas ground one row at a time, then sealed at the back with latex and a cotton scrim. The technique allows tighter shaping of motifs than knotting permits and a deeper, more even pile. The rug that comes off the frame has the body and weight of a knotted rug at a fraction of the production time.

Two tufters and a finisher worked the rug over 4 weeks in India. The wool was gun-tufted into a stretched cotton primary backing, then sealed at the reverse with natural latex and bonded to a cotton scrim. The pile was sheared by hand with long blades to bring the ivory field to a uniform plane, and a final pass with shears carved the motif a few millimetres clear of the ground so the pattern reads in relief at room scale.

The composition

Colour does the work. The wool was over-dyed in two baths to reach the depth shown, which is why the ivory reads with a subtle internal variation rather than as a flat block. The pattern was drawn for room scale, which means the geometry holds at six paces and only resolves into its detail when you stand on the rug.

The piece in a room

A medium living room with a three-seat sofa and a pair of chairs accepts the piece comfortably. The ivory ground handles both linen upholstery and leather. Ivory rugs hold their cleanest read against dark hardwood and against pale plaster equally. Best with one strong piece of wall art and otherwise restrained surfaces; the rug carries enough visual weight that the room does not need a second graphic event.

Care

Disengage the beater bar before vacuuming. Tufted construction is dense but the pile is held by latex rather than tied knots, so aggressive agitation is the one thing to avoid across the rug's life. Spot clean with a cotton cloth and cool water for fresh spills; professional cleaning every three to four years handles ground-in soil. Rotate a quarter turn each season so foot traffic and light age the surface evenly.

Reference

• Medium: hand-tufted wool, latex bonded, cotton scrim backing
• Dimensions: 2'3" x 7'6" (69 × 229 cm)
• Pile: 12 mm
• Hands: 2 tufters and 1 finisher, about 4 weeks
• Wool weight: roughly 2.4 kg per square metre
• Origin: India

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