Carpet and Rug Glossary:
When searching for carpet or rugs many people may not know the vernacular of carpet world. When dealing with carpet or rugs, it is important to prepare yourself before you go shopping. To help you out, here are some carpet and rug glossary terms that may come in handy while researching your next purchase.
Rug Binding — Known as banding or edging, rug binding is the narrow strip of material that is sewn over a carpet edge to protect, strengthen, or decorate the finished rug. Binding comes in a variety of colors, widths, and materials; all of which can be customized for your project.
Density — Density or weight refers to the amount of pile yarn in the carpet and the closeness of the tufts. In general, the denser the pile, the better the performance. The industry doesn’t use density to measure quality the way that it used to. In fact, many manufacturers disclose this only to their sales reps. If this information isn’t available on the sample, we are happy to track down the information for you.
Sisal — A natural plant fiber used in constructing woven rugs or carpet. Sisal naturally comes in various shades of greys, tans, and browns but can be dyed to include pops of all colors. Sisals are also woven into today’s hottest patterns and textures such as stripes, herringbone, basketweave and houndstooth. Because of its course feel, sisal can also be blended with wool to soften it up. The term “sisal” is often used to cover all natural fibers such as jute, sea grass, or abaca. Manufacturers are even creating materials out of synthetic materials like olefin to mimic the looks that were once unique only to sisal.
