What Are Abrashes on Wool Rugs?

Watch this video to see examples of abrashes. After the video, read on to learn more about abrashes and wool rugs. 

Wool Rug Abrashes

Quick answer: abrashes are proof you have an authentic, hand-knotted wool rug. Companies will try to use machines to create cheaper oriental rug look-a-likes and sell them at hand-knotted prices. Abrashes are one of the things that sets a fake apart from a true hand-knotted rug. Colors that don't quite match the other colors, his might at first be seen as an imperfection, but it is actually proof that you have an authentic, hand-knotted wool rug. Sometimes a wool rug will have an inconsistency in the dye. This is something that happens when the person weaving the wool rug runs out of wool from one dye lot and switches to wool in the next dye lot. Since the wool is hand dyed, there is always the chance there will be very slight color differences between dye lots. 

Why are abrashes such a sought-after trait ?

It is a sought after trait because it is something that set hand-knotted wool rugs apart from machine made rugs. Since this is a "tell-tale" feature of hand knotted rugs, machine-made rugs are beginning to attempt to replicate this as well. After the machine makes the rug, it will go back and add a few fake abrashes to appear as an authentic hand knotted rug. 

FAQs

Do All Hand Knotted Wool Rugs Have Abrashes?

 Yes, all hand knotted wool rugs have abrashes. When you buy your wool rug from RugKnots, look for the abrashes, you will find them. 

My Rug Doesn't Have An Abrash - Is It Authentic? 

We recommend having your rug appraised by a wool rug appraiser if you think you have an authentic rug that doesn't have any abrashes. 

Is an abrash or an intentional part of the design? 

 You can tell - if the color doesn't match the design, it is an abrash. Look at the colors around the abrash and see if it is off just a bit. If it is, it is probably an authentic abrash.  Of course, if you have any questions, see an appraiser. 

When you buy a hand-knotted wool rug from RugKnots, you know it is authentically hand crafted by the abrashes on every rug. We want to answer all your questions about our one-of-a-kind rugs. So please, ask us your questions.