Look at the carpet and handmade carpet
One of the best ways to tell the difference between a machine-made rug and a hand-woven rug is to look at the back of the rug. In a hand-woven carpet, the knots are slightly uneven and not perfectly uniform; Some nodes may be larger and others may be smaller. Of course, it is not surprising, because this is a completely manual process and the weavers put each knot in the foundation of the carpet by hand, and this leads to the unevenness and non-uniformity of the knots; On the other hand, because the machine carpet is woven by fully automatic machines, the back of these carpets is usually smooth and uniform.
Look at the roots of handmade and machine rugs
Another way to determine whether a rug is hand-woven or machine-made is to look at the rug's roots. As you can see in the photo, the roots in the machine carpet are sewn to it and are not actually part of the carpet; But the roots in the hand-woven carpet are along the foundation of the carpet, which generally consists of threads and is a part of the carpet itself.
Look at the edge or side of the carpet
In fact, the edge of the carpet in hand-woven carpets are weft threads that are wrapped around the outer edge of the carpet and hold each other. Usually, the edge or pattern of the carpet is also used to identify the origin or origin of the carpet, because the weavers of each region have different methods and styles to finish these edges of the carpet. In a hand-woven carpet, the edges are stitched by hand, so they may not be completely straight and may be a bit uneven, but in a machine-made carpet, the edges are embroidered by a machine and are usually uniform and smooth.
Careful as the size and pattern or design of the carpet
The shape and size of the machine carpet, as well as its pattern, are generally very precise, and its design is usually reflected from one side to the other, and there is rarely a contradiction in the design of the machine carpet.
But on the other hand, It is possible that there is no exact symmetry in the hand-woven carpet, it is even possible that the weaver of the hand-woven carpet has woven the carpet without using a design and based on his memory.
Other Differences of Machine Carpet and Handmade Carpet
Machine carpet:
Machine carpets are woven automatically and very quickly by large electric machines controlled by computers. The use of synthetic fibers in this type of carpets is very common and they are mostly produced from synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, polyester, acrylic and artificial silk. Machine-made carpets are much cheaper than hand-woven carpets, and depending on the quality and type of fibers used, their life lasts up to 20 years or less. Of course, a wool machine carpet can last for several decades if it is well maintained. Machine rugs generally have no value to collectors. Handmade carpet: Handwoven carpets are tied and woven by hand on a carpet machine (carpet loom) similar to the photo below. Hand-woven carpet is a very old art that deserves to be admired! The size of the rug depends on the size of the rug and its weaving is done from the bottom to the top. Carpet weavers weave the knot in the foundation of the carpet and this way the carpet thread is formed. This process is very tedious and time consuming. The production time of a handmade carpet depends on the size and details of the design, and the weaving of a 12-meter high-quality carpet takes more than a year. I hope you understand why a hand woven rug is so expensive. Handwoven carpets are usually produced with fibers such as wool, silk, cotton, hemp and other natural fibers. Silk is sometimes used in woolen rugs to accentuate the design as well as enhance the beauty of the rug. A high-quality hand-woven carpet, if well maintained, can be passed down from hand to hand for several generations.