Oriental Rug Knot Counting

As mentioned earlier, rugs using the Ghiordes weave will have two bumps or loops across the warp on which the knot has been tied. It is important when counting knots to be sure to count the two bumps widthwise (on the horizontal axes) as a single knot, rather than two separate knots.

A rug employing the Ghiordes knot with 10 knots in an inch along the horizontal axis and 20 knots in an inch along the vertical axis will have 200 knots per square inch. Amongst dealers, this rug might be referred to as a 10/20 (or 10x20) single knot rug. Below are illustrations of a Ghiordes rug with 11/22 knotting.

In the image above, the measuring tape has been laid out widthwise (on the horizontal axis) on the back of the rug employing the Ghiordes or symmetrical knot. The pens are pointing at two adjacent white bumps, which would appear to be two separate white knots. However, in reality these two bumps are part of the same knot, and the two bumps are counted as one knot on the horizontal axis. Similarly, the two red bumps on the left and right side of the white bumps also constitute one knot, as do the two black bumps on either side of the red bumps.

The notches marked on the measuring tape above indicate the knots along one inch of the horizontal axis. The first bump is counted and the second adjacent bump of the same color is skipped, as this is still part of the same knot, as illustrated in Image 1. Counting the knots from left to right the first two black bumps constitute one knot, the next two red bumps constitute the second knot, the two black bumps constitute the third knot, and so on. If you count carefully you will notice that there are 11 knots along the length of one inch on the horizontal axis.

Moving on to the vertical axis (or lengthwise), each bump constitutes one knot. The two pens above are pointing at two separate knots: one black knot and just below it, one white knot.

Above, each pen is pointing to a white bump at the start and end of the inch. As each bump constitutes a knot on the vertical axis, each of the alternating colors constitute one knot each. Counting the alternating black and white bumps, the total comes to 22.

The carpet shown in the images above therefore has a total of 242 knots per square inch (11/22 or 11x22), using the Ghiordes weave.

A rug employing the Senneh knot with 16 knots along an inch on the vertical axes and 16 knots along an inch on the horizontal axes has 256 knots per square inch. Amongst dealers, a rug with this knot formation may be referred to as a 16/16 double knot rug. See the illustrations below for an example.

With rugs employing the Senneh knot, each bump constitutes one knot. The two pens in the image above illustrate this by pointing at two separate adjacent knots on the horizontal axis.

Above, the two pens point to the first knot and the last knot along the length of an inch on the horizontal axis (widthwise). In the image above, we count a total of sixteen knots within the tape-measure's inch (this includes the two knots the pens are pointing at).

On the vertical axis (lengthwise to the rug), the two pens above point to the first knot and the last knot along the length of an inch. If you look carefully, you will be able to count 16 separate knots.

Summary: The carpet thus has a total of 256 knots per square inch (16 x 16), using the Senneh weave.

1. Count the knots in 3-4 areas of a rug to get a more certain idea of the knot count.

2. Take into consideration that a rug that is 3-4 inches longer than the standard size (eg., a rug that is 3' 3" x 5' 3") may be still be an 11/22 quality rug in design size, but due to the slightly larger size in actuality, the knots per square inch may measure 10/20. In other words, the knots may not have been packed down as tightly while the rug was being made, and the knots are therefore slightly more spread out.

3. Knot count is an important factor when determining a rug's quality, but it is only one factor. Several other factors also play important roles in determining a rug's quality, such as materials used, origin, design, dyes, color combination, etc.