The Weaving Record of a Carpet

This is an image of a classical 18th-century Chinese antique rug. I stumbled upon it over a decade ago in an English-language carpet magazine. Later, a similar pattern appeared at a Sotheby's auction. Because five circular motifs are distributed across its field (sometimes referred to as “Medallion” patterns in rug terminology), it has come to be known as the “Five Medallions” rug.

This “classical Chinese” design is intricate and delicate yet dynamic, featuring a clean and sophisticated color palette. Its details reveal the delicate and ornate elements of Rococo style, as the Rococo art movement prevalent in 18th-century Europe drew significant inspiration from Chinese culture. Viewed as a whole, however, it retains classical restraint and balance.

Around early 2003, we decided to restore this antique carpet.

By the end of 2004, the first restored piece was unveiled (see above). Despite having only a photograph of the ancient carpet as reference material, the resulting design drawings proved quite satisfactory—a testament to the skill of our master draftsman. When compared to the original, however, room for improvement remained evident in both color palette and weaving technique.

Over the next few years, three more “Five Medallions” rugs were produced. We strive for each reproduction to approach the original more closely, both in weaving technique and color balance. Yet, the very nature of handcrafted work means each piece possesses its own uniqueness—especially the subtle variations in color, showcasing the infinite charm of natural plant dyes. It's like observing the sky: due to the ever-changing clouds, what we see is always different.

This marks our fifth attempt to recreate this rug using traditional weaving and dyeing techniques. Earlier this year, while planning production schedules for our workshop's looms, the “Five Medallions” design came to mind once more. After all, our pattern library holds over a hundred designs, yet we weave no more than ten rugs annually. Only patterns with enduring appeal earn selection!

Knotted carpets, also known as tufted carpets, employ an ancient and ingenious traditional craft technique that originated in China as early as the Han Dynasty. This weaving method excels at rendering intricate patterns with sharp definition. Functionally, it endows the carpet surface with elasticity, making it durable, moisture-resistant, and insulating against cold. The illustration below shows two traditional knotting techniques used in global carpet weaving: the figure-eight knot and the horseshoe knot. Both Chinese and Persian carpets are woven using the figure-eight knot.

This documentation captures not only the process of carpet weaving, but also time, craftsmanship, and a way of life...

Preparations for the design began in early April, revisiting sketches from 2004. Minor adjustments were made to color codes in specific sections, and annotations for the “soft” weaving technique were verified. Simultaneously, yarn was prepared according to production stages: measured, dyed, washed and dried, and twisted into strands...

May 7: This shows the dyed portion of the yarn (above). The yellow thread in the center (No. 4) is silk, clearly demonstrating the distinct sheen between silk and wool. The contrast between silk and wool helps distinguish elements of similar color within the pattern and enhances its three-dimensional effect.

May 20: The first step in weaving: setting up the warp threads. The principle for warp setup is uniform tension and spacing according to the carpet's density. This carpet has a density of 90 threads per inch, meaning 90 pairs (180 threads) per foot. Covering a width of 2.6 meters requires over 1,500 warp threads. The warp threads are looped around the upper and lower crossbars of the wooden beam, then tensioned using two ten-ton jacks, resembling a giant multi-stringed instrument. The weaving process unfolds across these strings. The density and width of the warp threads fundamentally determine the final product's density and dimensions, though some shrinkage occurs during the post-processing wash.

The following diagrams illustrate the different stages of the weaving process in chronological order:

May 29: Weaving the main edge. The weaver wraps the wool yarn in a figure-eight pattern around the front and back warp threads, then cuts it off. Thus, the carpet surface is composed of hundreds of thousands of wool yarn knots. Each row of knots forms a line, and weaving is the process of connecting points to form lines, then accumulating lines to create a surface.

June 9: Weaving the field. After completing each row, the weaver must pass two weft threads through the warps and then compact it with an iron rake. This process ensures the knots are exceptionally secure, with the interlacing warp and weft threads forming the carpet's firm ground structure. Given the carpet's width, the weaver can only complete one row per hour. Thus, approximately eight rows are woven daily, equating to 6,000 to 8,000 knots.

July 5 (Above image)

July 18

The “soft” weaving technique is a distinctive method frequently employed in classical Chinese carpets. It involves replacing a single-color yarn knot with two yarn knots of reduced strands at the curved sections of the pattern. where each knot incorporates the color of the adjacent curve segment. This method halves the height of the resulting “sawtooth” effect, yielding smoother curves that mimic the appearance of high-density weaving. As seen in the detailed photograph above, the rendered arcs achieve a painterly quality.

July 29 (Above)

August 12: The carpet weaving is nearing completion. Although some yarn ran out during the process and needed to be re-dyed, the process went smoothly, with the re-dyed yarn blending seamlessly into the original colors. At this stage, the carpet appears highly likely to be a success.

August 22nd, weaving completed. Spanning from the Grain Buds to the End of Heat, this journey took three months and three days—a day worthy of celebration!

Next comes the carpet's finishing process, including steps like flattening, washing, drying, and trimming.

Just as a beautiful life requires steady, grounded steps, each strand of colorful yarn intertwines closely, progressing step by step to reveal a harmonious picture.