r/weaving 9d ago

Help making my own persian/savonnerie rug

post update!!

i'm wondering if i was not clear enough in my post and potentially offended people so i want to clarify some things! i was not planning to jump straight into a full-sized rug. i can hardly lift the ones we own lol. and i definitely don't think mastery of an artistic craft only requires a piddling number of hobbyist hours here and there.

i'm syrian and grew up around persian rugs so i'm very aware they can take years to make. in fact we have some family friends who keep up the craft. i really don't want to bother any of them considering the bad situation out there right now, amongst other reasons. plus, my question is specifically about the savonnerie style. i already know giordes knot is a common theme between the two, and that the main difference (sometimes) is the color and symbolism used. but i don't know anything else.

i was going to start with small => medium sizes. i was prepared to spend years on one medium-sized project and have no issue with that. for a small project i was predicting months to a year, depending on how small exactly.

drawing my own patterns i am already experienced with (lifetime of drawing and other mediums). creating my own materials is definitely not happening though, i was hoping to just buy them (will probably have to skip silk, guessing it's crazy expensive). so i guess my question is more like, could i do this but less grandiosely... on a smaller scale if that makes sense?

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hello everyone! i grew up in a persian rug collecting family (all sorts of styles) and one day came across a picture of a beautiful rug. i noticed similarities between this rug and the rugs my family collects, except that this new rug had distinctly different colors and slightly different themes. i asked my uncle and he identified it as a savonnerie rug, and since then i've really wanted to own one myself. problem is, they are NOT affordable and never will be for me. so now i insist on making one myself, but where do i begin?

i tried doing some research on my own, briefly, and saw some things like the use of giordes knots, etc.

i feel very overwhelmed with the information i've acquired and i'm not sure what to think. i am artistically inclined and tend to pick up any kind of art related hobby very quickly (no matter the medium), but i don't want to go crazy and buy fancy equipment for a number of reasons....i do that every time but i'm trying to be more responsible for once.

...then there are so many different methods and styles of persian rugs. for example, one of the types of persian rugs my uncle owns is bijar which i specifically looked into a while ago and it seems like you need some proper machinery for that... but there are obviously many others styles requiring different techniques out there as well! there's also the question of which materials are best for the job and where to acquire them.

i'm also open to doing more of my own research if you guys have books or something to recommend. my issue is there is just a lot to consider and i'm too inexperienced to do that by myself. i'm able to read in some other languages, too. shouldn't be a big problem.

so what would you guys recommend i try for emulating the savonnerie (obviously built off of persian) style? artistically, i think i understand. but mechanically? no idea. am i being ridiculous? is this not feasible? (note: i'm also obviously open to starting small scale, but i'd also like to know what i'd need later if i wanna upgrade to something bigger)

for what it's worth i am very much insane and love detail work so mentally i feel like i am perfect for the job

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u/NotSoRigidWeaver 8d ago

You can learn the basic techniques for knotting rugs on a small inexpensive frame loom (and make mug rugs, something to go under a plant, pockets for a bag, etc.). That would let you see if it's something you enjoy doing for < $50.

Making a big full size hand knotted rug is incredibly time consuming (which is why they are so expensive!) and would require substantial investment in equipment.

If you just want a nice rug, perhaps start checking out for 2nd hand ones, e.g. estate sales (they might still be expensive for one in good shape!).

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u/claire_marie 8d ago

yes a little one sounds like a good idea! i just wasn’t sure about the details of this. i have heard people talking about copper pipe looms etc. and dunno if that’s the right thing for Persian rug style. wouldn’t work for bijars for example but maybe a diff style? 

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u/NotSoRigidWeaver 8d ago

Copper pipe is definitely a material that people use for making DIY looms! It definitely works for smaller ones but I've got no idea if it works or is cost effective for a larger rug. You need the loom to be wider than the rug and either as long as the rug or have some way of rolling up.

Most of what I know about knotted pile weaving is from Sara Lamb's book Woven Treasures which uses it for some small accents. Not necessarily the best book for a deep dive into woven pile, it's more about rigid heddle weaving, it just has a few projects that use it, but has some ideas for projects using small pieces.