Waviness in Afghan-Style Rugs: A Common Problem

Afghani rugs are among the most frequent visitors to our wash facility. Most of them are wool pile upon wool foundation, and most of them have tension problems, which manifest themselves in sections of the rug that don't lay flat, such as this small Afghan rug we had in a few days ago.

At first glance it may seem fine, but if you look a bit closer, you'll notice that in the center of the rug, on both ends, the rug pulls in somewhat. Here is a closer look, for comparison.

As I mentioned, this is a frequent issue with these types of rugs. The problem traces all the way back to when the loom was first set up, at the very beginning of the weaving process. When the wool warps are strung up, it is difficult to get universal tension across the loom, usually because the wool warps have been spun at different tensions during the spinning process. So the warps appear to be the same tension at the beginning, and even when cut off the loom during the finishing process, but the first time the rug is washed and the warps "relax", they end up shifting and pulling the rug out of shape, often with drastic results.

This is a concern for our rug washing shop in particular, because it is a manufacturing characteristic, and has nothing to do with a wash-related mistake. When a client brings a new rug in and it lays fairly flat before the wash, and then after the wash exhibits pronounced waviness (even though it was washed correctly), it can be hard to explain.

Even on rugs that have been washed before, the problem might increase with subsequent washes. It cannot be corrected in most cases. While some of these rugs can be stretched back into a more uniform shape, the rug itself will usually slowly pull itself back out of shape when off the stretching floor for any length of time. So they will look great immediately after stretching, but it won't last long.

Here is another runner that came in for wash recently.

You can readily see that the rug is crooked, which is much more noticeable in its natural habitat (a hallway!), as distances between the rug and the walls make the misshapen state evident. But what is not as evident is the buckling along the length. Look at this rug from another angle.

From this angle, you can see the waviness along the left side. In extreme cases, this can be a tripping hazard, even with a good pad underneath the rug. Again, stretching the rug is not an option... in this case because the sides already lay nice and flat, their sidecords wrapped and secured at a proper tension.

The sides lay flat already. Stretching the rug to correct the waviness in the field would cause problems - possibly damaging the rug - along the sides.

Bottom line, this is a manufacturing characteristic, which in some cases will slightly worsen with wash, and is normally not correctible. It's just something you'll need to know about your Afghan rugs, if you have any in your collection.

Comments

[Captain Rug Wash]

Great post i had an Afghan like this a few weeks ago and i had to explain to her why it was misshapen. it cleaned up lovely and the buckling after was not as bad as i thought, she was over the moon.
great blog i read it regular a great educational source for me.

Thank You
Captain Rug Wash

[rug repairer]

Just found your blog and will be a regular visitor no doubt. Stretching usually corrects those bumps to a degree but i would be hesitant to guarantee 100% success just in case. Tightly woven afghans are always difficult to correct. I always inform customers before hand.