The very look of handmade carpets and rugs is different from machine made carpets and rugs. There are a number of differences between handmade and machine made rugs. Here are some distinct elements to consider.

Knots
Machine made rugs and carpets are not woven by hand but are loomed by a computer generated system or apparatus. There are no knots in a machine made rugs. Whereas in a hand made rug, each knot is hand knotted and tied. In machine made carpets, threads are glued or looped onto a hot latex (plastic) backing which cools and hardens. They show a complete and rigid uniformity in manufacture which transforms into a static design. Machine made rugs generally lack spontaneity and human touch.

Sides and Ends
In a hand made or hand knotted rug, the fringe is "part" of the rug. The fringe is not sewn on as an extension, as is the case in machine made rugs. Machine made rugs always have "serged" sides or machine stitching on both sides of the rug, as opposed to a hand-knotted which will be irregular and imperfect.

Back
In power loomed or machine made rugs the stitching on the back is very consistent. They have extremely regular knots and even structure remains identical in all parts of the carpet. On the other hand in hand-knotted rugs the stitching vary slightly due to different tensions on the wool as people hand tie the knots. Most handmade rugs and carpets are covered with a cotton/canvas backing. Another point to differentiate is that the pattern or the design is clearly seen on the backside of handmade rugs.

Materials
Acrylics and other chemically processed materials are usually used to make machine made carpets. Hand-knotted rugs and carpets use pure organic wools.

Touch
you can also differentiate a machine made and hand made rug simply by touching. If you place one finger on the front of a machine made rug and your thumb on the back and pinch tightly, the rug will compress greatly and you will feel a sensation going right through one side to the other side. On the other hand while pinching handmade rugs you will feel much more body and substance.

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