REPAIR

REPILING

The term repiling means the replacement of lost, badly damaged or worn knots and the reinsertion of the pile with a lot of patient.  The amount of patience  required depends on the size of the damaged area and the fineness of the weave in the rug to be repaired.

Damage to the pile can be made by moths,continual traffic on one or more parts of the rug resulting in wear or by fire. Moths usually devour the woollen parts of oriental rugs; where the warp, weft and pile are all of wool the moth will eat through them completely, leaving a hole.  If the foundation is of cotton, the damage will only extend as far as the pile.

Rugs in use on the floor often receive heavy wear in one or two particular areas, due to their continual exposure.  These areas will, therefore, show signs of wear earlier than the rest of the rug.  A common occurrence is the wearing of a rug around the legs of  a dining room table yet the centre of the rug remains in good condition.

Rugs may also need repiling as a result of burn damage from cigars or cigarettes and burnt cinders from an open wood or coal fire.  Rugs with a thick pile obviously receive less damage than those with a short nap.  If the burn has only singed the very uppermost ends of the pile and the knot basically remains intact, the burnt tips of the fibers should be trimmed with curved scissors. This will leave the trimmed area with a slightly lower length of pile than the rest of the rug, but this does not matter as it does not normally affect the beauty or stability of the rug.  However, if the burn has damaged the actual base of the knots, this area will have to be cleaned of the damaged knots and new ones will have to be reinserted.  Where the burn is even more serious and the warp and weft threads have been destroyed by fire, this will require reinsertion of new warp and weft threads before the repiling process can be executed.

How to Repile

To carry out a lasting repiling job, it is essential that the warp and weft (the foundation) be firm, undamaged and in good condition. Damaged warp or weft threads cannot support the insertion of new knots and must therefore be replaced.  Rugs must first be cleaned before repiling is carried out.  If the pile is not cleaned first and then is cleaned after repiling, the yarns, which once matched will no longer match for the original likeness in colour was made with a dirtied colour.

Natural fibres, like wool and silk, of comparable colour, quality and age should be selected  for the replacement of the pile.  Man-made fibres should not be used even if they provide the perfect colour match.  Matching the fibres should be done in a natural light as fluorescent light distorts the shading.  We have good selections of yarns at our workshop in different quality type of wool and silk for different rugs like Angora wool, Kashan wool, Heriz silk and needlepoint wool all vegetable-dyed.  We know it is worthwhile taking time over and over for the selection of the matching fibres as a well-matched yarn is one of the secrets of an invisible repiling job.

When we start repiling; we remove the remains of any knots left within the damaged area.  Moths usually digest the wool from the front (but sometimes the back) of the rug,  but part of the knot will remain trapped between the warp and weft threads.  Particles of damaged knots will also remain in the cases of wear or burns.  We remove the damaged or partly damage knots by inserting a needle from the front of the rug between the warp and weft threads and the remainder of the knot will then fall away at the back.  Then we determine whether the type of knot used on the rug is Persian or Turkish as the new knot should match the original knot.  With a threaded needle or hook re-knot the pile into the damaged area with the correct knot.  Following the colour and design is made easy by following the design of a similarly patterned area elsewhere in the rug (often at the opposite end as many rugs are symmetrical).  Examine the similar design from the back and count the number of knots used in each colour per horizontal line, for example, two blue, three red,  two blue four brown and so on.  With the correct colour for each stitch, work horizontally in the same manner.  As each knot is re-inserted, leave the loose threads about half inch longer than the rest of the pile.  When the damaged area has been completely repiled it should be lightly ironed from the back with a warm iron in order to settle the newly-knotted pile into position.  With a pair of curved scissors carefully and evenly trim longer threads to the same height as the rest of the pile of the rug.

Repiling is a true life saver adding years to the life of a rug.  The pile covers the bare foundation of the rug and prevents it from disintegrating.