Highland fleece, undyed
Wool
Long-staple fleece, hand-carded and hand-spun so every strand keeps a little lanolin. It springs back underfoot and ages to a soft sheen.
Every knot, tied by hand.
Meera Rathore, Hand-knotted Rug Atelier, Jaipur
Hand-knotted rugs woven slowly from undyed and plant-dyed wool. Each piece takes months at the loom and lasts generations on the floor.
No. 1 The pattern book
Choose a motif. Watch it weave.
Every commission starts on graph paper, one square per knot. Pick a motif, a dye palette and a size, and the loom redraws it knot by knot. When it feels right, send it to us as your starting sketch.
No. 2 Materials
Wool, silk and roots, bark and flowers.
Run a finger (or the cursor) across each swatch. The light rakes over the fibre the way it will across your floor in the late afternoon.
Mulberry silk, indigo
Silk
Used as a highlight, never as a whole field. A few rows of silk catch the light and make a motif seem to lift out of the wool.
Madder, weld, indigo skeins
Natural dyes
Madder root for reds, weld and pomegranate for yellows, indigo vats for blues, walnut husk for browns. Each batch shifts a little, and that shift is the point.
No. 3 At home
Rugs that settle into a room.
Recent pieces in the houses they were made for. Every rug is one of a kind and signed on the reverse. Sample settings.
No. 4 From sketch to floor
Six steps, one thread.
A commission usually takes four to nine months, depending on size and knot density. You see it at every stage. Sample timeline.
Week 1
A conversation about the room
Photos, measurements, how the light moves and who walks across it. Dogs and children welcome.
Weeks 2 to 3
The cartoon
The design is painted square by square on graph paper, one square for every knot. You approve it before any wool is cut.
Weeks 3 to 5
Dyeing
Fleece is dyed in small batches with madder, indigo, weld and walnut, then dried in the sun. We post you the skeins.
Months 2 to 7
Knotting
Two weavers sit side by side at the loom, tying and cutting each knot, beating down every row. Monthly photos from the loom.
Final month
Washing and shearing
Washed in the courtyard, stretched in the sun, then sheared level so the pattern reads crisp underfoot.
Delivery
Unrolled in your room
Wrapped in cotton, shipped insured, and signed on the reverse with the weavers' names.
No. 5 The atelier
Meera Rathore
Hand-knotted Rug Atelier
Hand-knotted rugs woven slowly from undyed and plant-dyed wool. Each piece takes months at the loom and lasts generations on the floor.
- Knots per sq inch
- 80 to 160
- Months at the loom
- 3 to 9
- Weavers per loom
- 2
- Largest size
- 4 x 6 m
Sample figures.
@studio.nova
Jaipur
Persian knot
Plant dyes
It arrived rolled in cotton and smelled faintly of lanolin. We unrolled it and the whole room exhaled.
The monthly photos from the loom became a family ritual. My daughter counted rows.
No. 6 Questions
Before you commission.
How long does a commission take?
Most rugs take four to nine months from first conversation to delivery. Runners and smaller pieces are quicker.
Can I match a colour from my room?
Yes. Send a fabric, a paint chip or a photo and we dye test skeins until the match feels right in daylight.
How do I care for a hand-knotted rug?
Vacuum without the beater bar, rotate it twice a year and blot spills quickly. Wool is naturally stain resistant and forgiving.
Do you ship abroad?
We ship insured worldwide, rolled in cotton. Duties and taxes are quoted before you commit.
What does a commission cost?
Price depends on size, knot density and silk content. After the first conversation we send a written quote with the sketch.
No. 7 Commissions
Tell us about the floor.
The room, the light, and how you live on it. We reply with a first sketch and a dye plan.