1. All three rugs are crafted differently: The hand knotted rugs are made by artisans using individual strands of fabric with the help of their hands. These artisans take around a year to complete its design, depending on its size and their own skills. Being truly ‘handmade’, they bring the lux look on floors.
The hand-tufted rugs use a tufting gun for tracing a beautiful design onto a canvas. As the tufting gun is used in the process, the process takes a little time like a day to complete the making of a rug.
Machine made rugs are made using large machines called as power looms which come electrically automated and are controlled by computers. They are manufactured fast using wool and synthetic fibers including nylon, polyester, art silk etc.
2. The fringe and design difference: The hand knotted rugs give a classy and rich handmade appearance as the fabric is being knotted within the fringe while in the tufted rugs, the fringe is either stitched or glued to the back of the rug.
There is also a difference in design where the back side of the rug mirrors the design on rug’s front part while in hand tufted rugs, the back side of the rug remains blank.
Meanwhile, the fringe of a Machine made rug is sewn on it which gets attached like a finishing touch. Also, the back in machine made is simple.
3. There comes a difference in materials too: Materials of rugs can play a determining role in defining price and durability as well as to create an ideal design. Artisans basically use natural materials including cotton, silk, wool, jute, and even bamboo to manufacture hand-knotted rugs, while hand tufted rugs make heavy use of natural materials too. However, artisans these days are using different fabrics to construct the rug as they are less labor-intensive than hand-knotted rugs. In the matter of machine-made rugs, craftsmen use synthetic materials, including polyester, nylon, and polypropylene. At times, wool, silk, cotton can also be used to produce a machine-made rug, but it is not that frequent.
4. Three kinds of rugs have different durability: There comes a difference in how the handmade, hand tufted and machine made rugs hold up over time.
While the hand-knotted rugs are the most durable rugs you can ever get, its durability depends on the number of knots being tied in one square inch. If you ask any master craftsman, a hand-knotted rug can last for centuries.
However, the hand-tufted rugs are a few amongst the least durable rugs available, but still they can last over for over 10-20 years. In fact, it doesn’t mean they are unable to hold up well.
A little bit of care can ensure that they can be sustained for long tenure.
The durability of machine made rug is not the same as that of hand knotted but still it can hold up well with proper care. The average amount of a machine made rug is around 20 years however they can go on for a larger period if followed with all instructions.
5. The price range stands different for all three kinds of rugs: There comes a big difference between these three rugs in the similar way as there is a big quality difference. Rugs like any other commodity follow a simple principle—the higher is the cost, higher is the quality.
While the hand-knotted rugs cost higher as they are often highly sought-after and their value keeps increasing, the hand tufted rug are at the mid-range level. Basically, the designs come automated hence the price is not that high.
Machine made rugs are the most affordable rugs however, they offer right balance between value and expense.
The basic fact is that the weaving technique, size and materials define the price of the rug in general.
6. All three rugs are different in appearance too: Although all three kinds of rugs have potential to complement any kind of home design, the hand knotted rugs give a look of handmade and organic kinds. Meanwhile there can be a few imperfections or variations coming out of these rugs. However, the hand tufted rugs are indistinguishable from hand-knotted rugs and are plain from their backside without any design story. Also they don’t have as many imperfections as there are handmade rugs. The machine made rugs made up with calibrated and programmed machines is perfectly uniformed. There aren’t any rough angles or imperfections in design and hence it gives them an exacting beauty. A machine-made rug can be checked from its back as a grid system is laid over the design, and you can also see a fringe sewn or glued on it.
With all these basic differences, a first time customer of rugs can easily buy a carpet of his choice without getting confused on three variants. He can easily choose the best of the rugs depending on his budget and get the best amongst all.
