The Machine Made Rug

Owning a machine made rug means extravagance can be yours while still living within your means. With a large variety of styles, designs and colors to choose from, machine made area rugs made of wool or blended fibers, or synthetics are sure to please. They can bring warmth and comfort to any decor. Complement your home with a lovely and affordable machine made area rug.

The ways to tell if your rug has been machine made are simple. First, there's the material used, then there's the price, and finally, there should be perfectly straight white lines on the back.

Style Variations

Machine made area rugs also come in the Oriental and Persian styles. Achieve the traditional and beautiful look of these rugs in a cost-effective way. Many buyers have already been pleased this way. If a machine made rug is 100% wool, and meets your other criteria, it would still be a fine quality choice.

When shopping for an area rug, you should consider where that particular rug is going to be. If it going to be where there is a lot of traffic like in the hallway then a machine made rug, sometimes referred to as power-loomed, is the best way to go. These looms are operated by hand, computer or machine.

If the rug is made using a computer-run power loom, then the design and colors are determined. The computer is formatted to hold the information about the rugs to be made. The loom is then strung with either jute or cotton, and then the rug is woven.

Wilton Woven Rugs

If you see machine made rugs that are "Wilton woven," this is referring to the loom that the rugs were woven on: the "Wilton loom". These particular rugs were made most likely in Belgium and out of fine wool. Machine made rugs are generally made out of synthetic materials like rayon, nylon and polypropylene blends.

Sometimes they’re made from olefin (which is another name for polypropylene). They have a latex backing sprayed on and are much more durable than hand-woven rugs. Wool is the easiest to clean and is more durable, but the most expensive of the common fibers.

So, synthetic materials like olefin are used. Olefin is not too shiny, if heat set, but polypropylene does have a tendency to flatten easily, and nylon isn't as durable.

Synthetics don't clean as well as the wool ones do. Nevertheless, they are more friendly to your pocket book.

These would be the kind you would put in that hallway, since they hold up to high traffic. They generally start to show wear after about twelve to twenty years of heavy use. Other places of high traffic, besides the hallway, would be in the family room and entryways, whereas medium traffic is considered in the home office and dining room.

The light traffic areas are located in a formal dining room, formal living room, and the bedrooms.

Main Advantages

The main advantages of machine made rugs are that they are fairly reasonably priced; they are extremely durable and at the same time are of a high quality. This makes them perfect for high traffic areas.

Some Disadvantages

The disadvantages are that they sometimes may be labeled as "hand woven"... so buyer beware. Another is that they are made in mass quantities, so are not one of a kind. If you're looking for uniqueness in your rug or rugs, you'll have to consider hand woven rugs.

Types of Wool

There are many types of wool that are used in the making of rugs. The wool can come from all over the world, but the wool considered by far the best to use comes from New Zealand. The reason is this: this wool is softer and shed resistant. If New Zealand wool is used the label should bear the "Fern" mark.

(Use of the Brand New Zealand Fern Mark indicates a company is a successful exporter and has attained certain standards as outlined in the New Zealand government's assessment process.)

These rugs have to pass twenty or more tests for

If you suffer from allergies or asthma, then a wool area rug will help by absorbing air contaminants, which will improve air quality. Another plus is that wool is biodegradable.

So in short, if you need an area rug for that high traffic area, then a machine made rug of the quality and price you like would be your best bet.

Finally...

If you want to leap right in and do some pre-shopping for machine made rugs, I'm sure you'll find the rug that suits your choice in design, material, color, type of weave, and size at one of the recommended sources below.

I can assure you I took great care to select each one. Each ranks high in customer satisfaction, and they have quality rugs in many price ranges, a sure bet they can satisfy their customers' needs.


Return to Top of The Machine Made Rug Page


Return to Rug Making


Go to My Area Rugs Guide Home