A rug takes a season
Zarghuna and her daughters knot every rug by hand, from dyeing the wool to the final wash. Here is what goes into one.
Zarghuna learned to weave sitting beside her mother's loom, passing wool and watching knots disappear into the pattern. Today the loom is hers, and her three daughters sit where she once did.
Colour from the garden
Before a single knot is tied, the wool is dyed. Walnut husks give the browns, madder root the reds, and pomegranate rind a soft, warm yellow. Every batch comes out a little different, which is why no two of their rugs are quite the same.
Knot by knot
A rug the size of a small room holds hundreds of thousands of knots. The family works in shifts, talking, singing and counting rows. A medium rug takes the four of them a full season to finish.
When it comes off the loom, the rug is washed, stretched and left to dry in the sun, then the pile is clipped by hand until the pattern sits crisp and even.
Selling online means the family can price their work for the months it takes, rather than for what a passing buyer offers. Every rug in their shop carries the name of the pattern and the season it was made.
