Here is the pre-inspection video for a 3x4 Kazak prayer rug we got in not long ago, that is in need of some attention. It has enough wear in it to keep it from being a candidate for restoration, but there are some repair option that will make the piece more livable. Kate will do some work to the perimeter and some field work; the results should be quite good.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

This mid-sized Kurd has perimeter problems, as well as many puncture holes in the field. In this clip, Kate does her pre-inspection evaluation and discusses her strategy for dealing with the issues to bring this rug back to life.

"Before" Pictures (click to enlarge):

Mid-Repair Video

And this is a video taken when the rugs were in progress, showing work that has been done, and discussing what remains to be done.

Before & After Pictures (click to enlarge):

This Baktiari is pretty shot. The field is worn in places, and the ends and sides have been machine surged at some point in the past. Machine surging is definitely not the correct way to secure the perimeter of a handmade rug like this - it was made by hand, it needs to be repaired by hand. The steady drilling of the machine needle has essentially perforated the foundation of the rug, and eventually it will pull off en masse. For the time being, it is stable, so we won't be removing it. We couldn't in any case, since it was also given a layer of latex on the back side, which is not reversible. In most case, such a bad repair would completely devalue the piece, but in this case, the rug had little value to begin with, because of its condition.

We will be doing some flatstitching in the field to help the design to stand out better, but that's about all we can do for this piece. It will not restore value to the piece, but it will make it more livable. 

Pictures:

Photo Captions:

1. Overall shot of the Baktiari, post-wash, pre-repair.

2. Close up of a section of the worn field.

3. A close up shot of some of the wear in the border.

4. A close up shot of the worst way you could possibly "repair" the perimeter of a rug. There is no way to undo this, and the rug is now seriously devalued. Whenever we see rugs that have had this sort of obviously damaging repair work done elsewhere, there's not much we can do except frown a bit and shake our heads.

5. A front view of the "wrongâ" way to repair a rug. Handmade rugs needs to be repaired by hand. The steady drilling of the machine needle will perforate the edges of the rug, like paper. Besides, it looks ugly and out of place. But the real killer is the latex, which seeps into the foundation and cannot be safely dissolved and removed. The rug is nearly completely devalued.

Occasionally, the need will arise in which a slot, or hole of some sort, will need to be created in a rug so that a floor outlet can be accessed. Usually, a lamp’s power cord, from a lamp on an end table near a couch. Rather than try to snake a cord across the rug and double it back under, a slit can be safely created to allow immediate access. 

Done properly, the opening in the field can be restored when the need no longer presents itself. In this clip, Kate discusses just such a repair, in a large, room-sized new Pakistani piece.

Photo Captions:

1. Overview shot of field where the outlet slit was created.

2. Close-up of cut edge, and how it was properly secured.

3. Shot of outlet slot, from front, closed.

4. Shot of outlet slot, from front, open.

Pre-Inspection

This Kurd runner has some wear issues in the field which will be addressed through selective flatstitching and dyeing. The ends and sides are secure and need no attention. It is a rug that the owners got married on long ago, and so it has great sentimental value to them. They are having it tended to in anticipation of handing it down to their grandchildren soon as a part of the family history.  

Pre-Inspection Photos:

Photo Captions:

1. Close-up of the inscription - I think it says, "There's a customer born every minute..."

2. A close-up of some of the flatstitching being done in the field.

3. Close up of a proper overcast stitch. This is the correct way to secure an unraveling rug so that it will never again lose any knots (and thus, more of its value). We guarantee this type of repair for the life of the rug.

4. Close up of an area of wear that has had some repair work done to it in the past, in a stop-gap fashion. We will now proceed to fully, correctly repair this area.

5. Another close up of an area of wear in the field.

6. A close-up shot of the back, with some previous "temporary" securing done.

Mid-Repair Video

Persian Flatweave

Pre-Inspection: In this clip, Kate details the problems with a large, collectible Persian flatweave, that has a couple dozen badly done old repairs. Each of these old repairs will need to be undone, and then each area repaired correctly. It's a long-term repair job that will be done in sections, as the owner sees fit. We hope to post updates of this piece as the process of undoing the old repairs and redoing themcorrectly unfolds. Also, the ends have issues.

Photo Gallery:

Photo Captions:

1. Close-up of an old, "bad" repair...

 2. Another close-up of an old, bad repair. The tension is way too tight, and will eventually tear apart the rug around the repair. These need to be removed and repaired correctly.

 3. Close-up of an inscription... I think it reads, "If you can read this, you're too close."

 4. These are not the original fringes. These were added after the fact, onto an improperly secured end. This is why they are sliding right off like that. These frines will have to be removed, the ends porperly secured, and new fringes added properly.

 5. Another close-up of the improperly-added fringes