CARPETS

BY,
SUSHMA ROY
 INTRODUCTION
• Available in a wide range of materials.
• Quality of carpet depends on:
1. Method of manufacture
2. Fibres used
3. Quality of the fibre
4. Density of the pile.
Contd..
• A good quality carpet should withstand:
1. Wear from constant footfalls.
2. Spillages.
3. Cigarette ashes.
4. Grit.
5. Sharp furniture.

• The shape & colour of carpet should be stable even if deep

cleaned & shampooed.
• The pile should be dense & made of strong fabrics.
 COMPOSITION
• UNDERLAY
• BACKING
• FACE OR PILE OF CARPET.
CONTD..
• The pile of carpet is held to the backing with knots ( in case of
woven carpet) or with adhesives.
• Underlay is essential for a woven carpet.
• Many new techniques provide carpets with backings of
sufficient resilience to make an underlay unnecessary.
Cross section of carpet
 UNDERLAY
• Also called as under felt.
• Acts a s a shock absorber between carpet backing and
unevenness of floor.
• Tends to make carpet feel softer.
• Absorbs pressure from furniture.
• Provides sound and heat insulation.
• Made of materials like, plain needle felt, impregnated felt
rubber foam, rubber foam with jute or polyurethane backing
etc.
• Underlay may be attached with secondary backing or may be
laid separately.
Contd..
• Attached underlay are easy to install, but are easily damaged
by moisture.
• Separate underlays are expensive but have a long life.
Needle felt underlay
Rubber underlays
Jute underlay
 BACKING
• The primary backing is the one in which the pile of the carpet
is anchored.
• Made of natural materials such as jute, hemp, cotton,
synthetic materials like nylon, rubber etc.
• Primary backing has a bonding material that may be of latex
or synthetic adhesives which holds fibres in place.
• Secondary backing is laminated to primary backing providing
additional stability, improved shape & resilience.
 PILE

• Also called as face of carpet.

• Should be strong and resilient.
• The pile may be a blend or of exclusively synthetic &
natural materials ( wool, cotton, silk is used in case of
luxury carpets)
• The blends commonly used are:
 Wool & rayon
 Wool & cotton
 Wool, acrylic & rayon etc.
Contd..
• The pile fibres’ density, height , twist & weave, affect
the carpet’s resilience & durability.
• Variations in texture can be used as effectively as
colour.
• The different types of carpet pile are:
 Hard twist pile
 Looped pile
 Cut pile
 Woven cord pile
 Velvet pile
Contd..
• Hard twisted pile:
• This is a cut pile with a heavy twist built into the
yarn, giving it a pebbly look.
• Mainly used in plain carpets.
• Doesn’t show shading & tracking caused by footfalls
& heavy furniture.
 Looped Pile
• The pile is uncut and is made up of a continuous
series of loops.
• Available in various textures.
 CUT PILE

• THE LOOPS OF THE PILE ARE CUT IN SUCH CARPETS.

 WOVEN CORD PILE

• The pile is left uncut, giving a tight corded effect.

• Most of the cord carpets are made up of man made
fibres.
• If the fibre is of good quality, it offers better
resistance to wear than velvet pile.
 Velvet pile

• Sometimes caled as velours.

• Close cut pile that has a smooth velvety appearance.
• Mainly available for plain or 2 tone carpets.
 TYPES OF CARPETS

• WOVEN CARPETS
• NON WOVEN CARPETS
 WOVEN CARPETS

• High quality carpets are made by weaving.

• The pile & the backing are woven together, so that
pile is locked into position.
• The pile may be cut or uncut.
• Uncut or looped woven carpets take 5-10 percent
more wear.
• Advantage of woven carpets is the slight elasticity of
pile.
Contd..
• Woven carpets are of 3 types:
• Wilton
• Axminster
• Oriental
• Wilton & axminster are the names of the looms on
which these carpets are woven.
• Axminster loom allows any number of colours.
• Woven carpets are more expensive, but worth their
cost because of durability.
Contd..
• Wilton carpet, like Axminster carpet, is
woven. However the difference between the
two methods is the way in which the carpet is
woven. Whereas the Axminster yarn is cut
into tufts and then held in place by the weft,
the Wilton carpet yarn is a continuous strand
woven all the way through.
WILTON CARPET
AXMINSTER CARPET
 ORIENTAL CARPETS
• Hand woven carpets from middle east & Asia.
• Also called as aristocrat of carpets.
• Floral designs dominate this type.
 NON WOVEN CARPETS
• These carpets are produced by attaching the surface
pile to a pre fabricated backing.
• Tufted carpets
• Berber carpets
• Bonded carpets
• Knitted carpets
 TUFTED CARPETS

• Available in plain & patterned.

• Made of synthetic fibres.
 BERBER CARPETS

• Made of natural wool.

• These carpets have short, nubby tufts.
 BONDED CARPETS
• The construction of Fibre-bonded
carpets and carpet tiles makes them ideal as a
durable, cost-effective, fray-free, flooring solution.
Fibres are punched or drawn through,
and bonded to, a backing web, which makes for a
very robust end product.
BONDED CARPETS
 KNITTED CARPETS

• These carpets are produced by interlacing yarns in a

series of connected loops.
 SELECTION OF CARPETS
• SIZE
• PURPOSE
• CONSTRUCTION
• AESTHETICS
 MAINTENANCE OF CARPETS
• ROUTINE MAINTENANCE
• PERIODIC MAINTENANCE:
 Shampooing
 Hot water extraction
 Dry powdering.