Ikat, pronounced as ‘ee-khat’, has become an increasingly popular style that has been utilized in clothes, throw pillows and most importantly wool rugs. It has been around for a long time for its unique, distinct and exceptional beauty. Interior designers and bloggers have grown absolutely in love with teal wool ikat rugs as they instantly create a quirky and eccentric space. If you’ve ever owned an ikat wool rug or have ever seen one, you might just know what I'm talking about. Ikat is a resist-dyeing technique in which the threads used for weaving are to be dyed first- in this case, wool threads. Even though it is said that this technique originated in Asia and South America, interior designers from all over the world have recently started showing an increased interest in ikat. Keep reading ahead for an in-depth guide to beige Ikat wool rugs artistry.
How Do I Recognize An Ikat Rug?
With ikat rugs taking the market by storm, it’s no shocker that many prints were designed to replicate the look of ikat. One very easy way to identify a pure wool ikat rug is to look at the back of the rug. If the back of the rug has solid defined colors, the rug pad is printed and is not an ikat rug. Here are some tips to help you recognize an ikat wool rug for home decor.
Warp
It can be hard to differentiate between a fabric that has printed warps than the ones that are ikatted. Due to the shifting of the warps, while weaving, both of these might have blurred edges. However, in warp todays ikat rugs, the threads are wrapped in a way to resist the dyes in order to create a pattern. Bundles of threads are integrated and designed precisely the same safavieh; these bundles may comprise of two to twelve strings and the woven texture would show these small groups of similar design and pattern for machine-made. Another way to identify these rugs is by looking at the length of the fabric. If the structure runs parallel to the selvage edge and the vertical lines are somewhat obscured because of the moving of the twist yarns- it may be warp aqua ikat.
Weft
In weft ikat, just the weft yarns are wrapped to oppose the dyes and to form the design, making particular horizontal lines. Weft ikat takes into consideration more smoothness and fluidity of structure than warp ikat. During weaving, it is basic to situate the weft yarn unequivocally in connection to the former weft shot and to all others that will pursue. Any impromptu or unplanned will cause the design to change. When looking for an ikat rug, you may see small loops at the selvage where the weaver moved weft threads to create the desired pattern. This certainly gives away the fact that the rug you are looking at is authentic safavieh light blue with a kind of flat weave.
Double Ikat
This process is quite complicated and confusing compared to the aforementioned processes. However, compared to the other two methods, double ikat is the easiest to recognize. The warp and weft yarns are wrapped and colored to harmonize; which results in the design consisting of feathery jute edges nourison.
Where is Ikat From?
To this date, it still isn’t known where ikat was first originated. However, Asia has various cultural religions that share a strong ikat tradition. Mainly southeast Asia, India, and Central Asia are considered to be ivory area rug where ikat was first originated. Although, many scholars say that this technique might have evolved independently in several different plush beige area rug. The word ikat comes from the Indonesian word ‘tie’. It was named by Dutch scholars who showed great interest in these new arrivals' distinct techniques. Since then, this technique has been rapidly spreading to different countries in the world for indoor/outdoor rug.
What is Ikat Weaving?
Ikat is a distinct technique in which the threads used for weaving are dyed beforehand. It is known to be a resist dyeing process in which many bundles of yarn are dyed several times until the desired pattern is attained. This dying process is unique and different from other processes of safavieh. For instance, in batik, the final cloth is supposed to be dyed, not the yarn with ikat hand. Once the yarns have been appropriately dyed and dried, the weaver then starts to line the yarn on the loom, to achieve the desired pattern. This technique is incredibly hard and complicated as the weaver has to dye the threads in the prescribed manner and has to place them correctly. When replicating a pattern, the weaver would have to dye a single thread in the same place as done before taupe. After that, the weaver would have to line up the thread on the loom in exactly the same place and then would have to weave it in exactly the same way. If even one step goes wrong, the weaver denim would have to start from scratch to make a blue area rug!
How To Style Wool Ikat Rug?
Ikat rugs are mainly popular for their earthly and terrestrial look. This rug is ideal for people who love to travel and feel the need to summon the sense of sundry, wonder and admiration. You should definitely try placing an ikat pattern wool rug in your living room as it evokes a sense of calmness and creates a relaxed environment. When buying an ikat rug, we always recommend you to buy a wool ikat rug as wool holds on to the colors well. Since wool is highly durable, it can easily be placed as a centerpiece just like your other rugs in a high traffic area. So you won't have to worry about your precious ikat rug shag being ruined. There is no rocket science behind how you should display and style an ikat wool rug. You’re supposed to style an ikat rug the same way you would style any other rug. However, interior designers recommend people to add in ikat wool rugs in boho and eccentric styled spaces. Many designers consider placing ikat rugs in contemporary spaces as a sin and this is easy to buy a teal rug from the credit card. To help you choose the right ikat rug, keep reading ahead in what patterns they are available in.
Pattern of Ikat Rug
The most common patterns created by ikat are geometric patterns. Some of them have rounded lines. However, ikat wool rugs are not only subjected to geometric patterns. These rugs are available in traditional, modern and bright looks.
Traditional Ikat rugs
Ikat wool area rugs have been around for hundreds of years. The pattern of Traditional ikat rugs will contain elements of the culture of those countries where they have originated. For instance, ikat rugs in Cambodia will be completely different from South American ikat rugs. Ikat rugs are available in Persian, Moroccon and even Turkish styles with natural fiber!
Modern Wool Ikat Rugs
Modern wool Ikat rugs differ vastly from traditional wool ikat rugs. Its patterns are contemporary that are either abstract or minimalistic. Interior designers are quite impressed with modern wool Ikat rugs. This is because these rugs find a way to cleverly hold on to the ikat style through creating the popular blurred ikat effect while bringing a touch of contemporary rug size style to it. One very popular extension of contemporary wool ikat rugs is bright multi-colored ikat rugs. The ikat technique is cleverly and carefully used to soften bright colored rugs and is used to fade the fabric. This is ideal for people who prefer bright, lively and colorful rugs for your space. With its faded touch, they won't even be too overwhelming for you like most bright color palette rugs!
How to Clean ikat Fabric?
Cleaning an ikat fabric is considered to be tricky and hard. When washing an ikat fabric, there are mainly two risks you need to be aware of. Firstly, the dyes on the rug may bleed. This is less likely if your ikat fabric is new, however, there is still a chance the dyes may bleed. This is why when cleaning your fabric, always use cold water and wash your fabric by handmade. Before we move on to the second risk, you should first know about the ‘more effect’. During the manufacturing process, a mixture of egg white and glue is evenly spread out on the surface of the fabric. This process is the final stage of manufacturing the product and is carried out to make the fabric rigid and glossy. Moreover, this creates a ‘more effect’ which further protects the fabric from dust and dirt. So when you wash your ikat fabric, the mixture of egg white and glue is bound to wash off. This will cause the more effect to disappear and will ultimately make the fabric soft.
Nonetheless, the fabric will still look as beautiful as ever. In fact, various designers love this worn out and organic look flat weaved. However, the washed fabric is certainly not suited for upholstery, curtains, and anything that would require the fabric to retain its shape. Although, in terms of ikat wool area rugs, this is not a problem. Wool is a fabric that is highly durable. Its nuloom natural fibers are coil-shaped which helps the rug to keep its shape even when exposed to an area receiving high footfall. Ikat fabrics, no matter what material is used, have to be hand-washed with cold water or, you may even get your ikat fabric dry cleaned. One thing you should remember while cleaning an ikat fabric is to never use a fabric whitener on it and to never squeeze the fabric when drying. This can cause damage to your rug beyond repair! For most ikat fabrics, you should iron it at a moderate temperature. But of course, this drying method cannot be used for bulky ikat fabrics such as wool ikat rug. For drying a wool ikat rug, you can simply hang it to let the excess water out. But make sure you don't hang it under direct sunlight as this can cause the colors to fade. You can use an eco-friendly heater or blower instead.
Where Can I buy Wool Ikat Rugs?
Wool rugs are considered to be quite expensive because they are 100% hand-woven and have numerous other qualities. Wool rugs undergo the dyeing process of batik which isn’t as complicated as ikat. Ikat wool rugs aren’t only handwoven but have a much more complicated weaving and dyeing process in comparison with batik wool rugs. For this reason, ikat wool rugs are considered to be more expensive. But of course, taupe ikat itself has three different types of weaving styles; warp ikat, weft ikat hand, and double ikat. These three types of ikat differ in complexity which thus determines the prices of the rugs. Similarly, this is the case with wool rugs too. In this case, wool rugs that belong to traditional patterns cost much more than those that belong to contemporary multi-color patterns. In fact, many traditional wool rugs might even be more expensive than double multicolor tufted ikat wool rugs! As you know by now, wool ikat rugs are quite expensive. With these rugs being expensive, several brands tend to charge them more than their actual worth just to gain a little extra profit!
However, we here at RugKnots offer a wide range of authentic ikat wool area rugs. We charge these rug sizes for their actual worth and not a penny more! Not only that, we offer great discounts, especially at this time of the year. Feel free to check our collection of beautiful and intricate wool ikat rugs anytime.
