Most of us aren't aware of the elaborate process involved in making rugs, especially since most rugs are machine made. However, the process is more or less the same as hand-made rugs, except machines are just included. When you spend a little time seeing how Oriental or Persian rugs are created – the craftsmanship and art that goes into these rugs – you will find a new found respect for the people who make these fascinating works of art we call rugs.

Rugs go through a tedious process. Firstly, of course, the wool needs to be sheared. From there it goes through a carding process – which is manually combing the wool to remove excess dirt and seperating the fibers for spinning. Spinning must be done before the wool can be yarn, and the rugs made. Spinning is either done by hand, by a spinning wheel, or by machine. The spinning by hand is done by pulling fibers out of a cluster of carded wool (or cotton) and rubbing them between the palms. By attaching a weight (or spindle whorl) to the one end of the fibers, the spinning becomes tighter. Using a spinning wheel greatly aids this process (it is a little known fact that the spinning wheel was a huge achievement in its time) as it makes for stronger threads of yarn, which are especially necessary for the foundations of rugs. Spinning wheels have become quite popular again, over the use of machines, since they allow for more variation and texture in the rugs.

From there, the yarn goes to the loom, which is a large wooden frame consisting of pegs evenly spaced on very long parallel beams, and where rugs are made. Looms can be either vertical or horizontal, the vertical looms being more practical and more widely used. The pattern of the rugs are now mapped out, decisions being made for the borders, patterns, centerpiece and backgrounds of the rugs. The wool, cotton or silk is dyed according to the specifications of the rugs designs, and the weaving of rugs has begun.

The technical aspects of this rugs weaving process is incredibly fascinating, consisting of three components : the warp, the weft and the woof. The warp is the wool or cotton strung tautly across the top and bottom pegs of the loom, the weft running perpinduclar to those. In knotted rugs (they aren't really knots, but loops) the woof creates the more complicated pattern from the individual knots tied onto the warp. This is only a summary of the craftmanship attached to weaving rugs, and the entire process of making rugs is incredibly intricate and time intensive. This process of making rugs has not changed at all throughout all the generations.

Rugs are designed to appeal to a particular kind of person, and designs might stand out depending on the use of line and color on the rugs, or depending on how intricate and detailed the design of the rugs are. Good designs are a subjective matter, and it depends on what the buyer of the rugs prefers and the interior decoration the buyer has in mind for the rugs.