What is rug restoration, you may be wondering? Restoration is a step above simpler repairs. Rug restoration restores a rug by weaving in the exact manner it was originally created. Restoration work should be very hard to detect. There are a variety of services encompassed by the term restoration, we will cover the most commonly performed.
Types of Rug Restoration:
Reweaving- Damaged areas of the rug are rewoven in the same manner the rug was originally constructed. This is a time-intensive process requiring high attention to detail, precision, and patience. Many fine rugs take over a year for a single artisan to weave. The larger the area that needs reweaving, the more time it will take to ensure the new work blends seamlessly.
Be wary of rug specialists who say they can finish the work quite quickly, as professional reweaving takes a lot of time to ensure the knot counts are comparable. A fine handmade rug can easily have 600 knots per square inch. Therefore, even a one-inch section will take hours to complete.
Fringe Restoration- Fringe gets damaged quite easily. The difference between fringe repair and fringe restoration is that fringe repairs are more minor- trimming, fixing a small unraveled area, etc. Fringe restoration typically involves replacing fringe damaged beyond repair. Our experts carefully remove the fringe and weave a new fringe into the body of the rug. If your fringe is stained or ragged, but does not need to be replaced, we can whiten the fringe and trim it neatly.
Do not work with companies that “restore” damaged fringe with glue. If you cut out the fringe and glue a new fringe on, it will look bulky and cheap, and can also easily unravel the entire rug. It is very important after removing the old fringe to sew the new fringe into the body of the rug to prevent unraveling.
Binding Restoration- Heavy vacuuming, traffic, and naughty pets that like to chew damage fine rugs. When binding is chewed through or damaged by the beater brush, it must be repaired as soon as possible to prevent further unraveling which increases the cost of restoration work. Weavers color-match thread to the original binding and then sew the damaged portions back together. A trained weaver identifies the stitching pattern used on the original binding and matches it with their new work.
Moth Damage Restoration- Moths eat holes through fine rugs in a matter of weeks or even days. It’s imperative that you take your rug to a rug specialist as soon as you notice the damage. A rug specialist like Behnam Rugs will both remove the moth infestation and restore the moth-eaten areas. The restoration aspect will require either patching or reweaving.
Patching is a cheaper, but more detectable option. The weaver matches your rug to a rug in their “Patch Bank.” A Patch Bank is a collection of rugs and rug cuttings that rug centers collect and save over the years to use on repairs in the future. A good donor rug should be from the same general area or city, the same color, pattern, material, and age as the rug being restored.
It is customary in the old world rug business for several restoration companies to share patch banks to improve the chances of finding the perfect donor rug. Behnam Rugs has thousands of pieces of fine rugs to fix rugs damaged by moths, mice, flooding, and improper care. In fact, we have the largest Patch Bank in the area! We use these treasured pieces to preserve fine rugs, as often reweaving is more costly than the total value of the rug.
The weaver measures the damaged area and cuts a matching patch to size before sewing it into the damaged area. As long as you are not studying the rug closely, you will not notice the patch. As we described in the section above, reweaving should blend seamlessly with the original rug. Even if you study it, you will not be able to discern the restored area. This difference, as well as the increased labor needed, is why reweaving is a more costly option. Use the value of your rug to determine if you want to patch it or reweave it. A more valuable rug should be rewoven.
Color Run Makeover- Some rugs experience color runs if they have never been washed, especially if the rug is also older. Another cause is water exposure, which can happen when potted plants rest on rugs, flooding occurs or any other event that exposes the rug to water. Color runs also happen when carpet cleaners “wash” fine rugs, as they leave harsh cleaners and soaps behind in the rug, eventually eroding the stability of the dye. At-home stain treatments may cause color runs as well. Red is the color that runs the most frequently.
No matter what caused the color runs, your rug can be restored. First, it will need to be professionally hand washed by a rug cleaning company. After washing, it should be laid to dry in the sun, which can reduce the appearance of color runs by up to 40%. The rug may need additional treatments, such as hand detail work to mask the color runs.
Another option is to overdye the rug, which will change the overall look of the rug. The additional dyes will mask the color runs, and an overdye treatment can always be removed and is not permanent. Restoring color runs is a tricky and difficult process. It is not always possible to completely remove the evidence of the color runs, but a reputable restoration company will be able to make it much less noticeable.
How to Decide if Your Rug is Worth Restoring:
- It’s valuable
- It’s a family heirloom, holding special memories and sentimental value
- It’s a central part of your interior design scheme
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