As rugs were always handmade, ( using handspun wools, sometimes cotton, and occasionally more expensive silk), highly skilled weavers were usually also adept at sorting, carding, combing, spinning and plying the lustrous wools.
In the villages of Anatolia, in Central Turkey, and Iran, women can often be seen in the street, spinning by hand using ancient drop spindles.
The particular characteristics of the wool sheared from local sheep is often a feature of the rugs texture and feel, and nomadic carpets are often woven from wool from sheep bred by the weavers themselves.


Photographed b y Dan Magree
Natural Dyes
This wool preparation takes many weeks, before continuing with the natural dye process. The use of traditional natural dyes was a hereditary skill and many women would pool their resources and expertise to ensure a lasting and radiant range of colors.Colors were normally specific to the local environment of the weaver and she could use any number of natural base materials that wood include plants, berries, roots and other vegetation.

The enormous spectrum of colour in oriental rugs is one of their most attractive and fascinating features. Although synthetic dyes are often used with greater frequency in modern rugs, the varying tones and hues of natural dyes give so many carpets, not only their individuality, but their high intrinsic value.

Many of the vast range of colors used in rugs are understood to have intricate meaning, combining with the weavers personal designs to give a unique symbolism to her rug.

Blue : Dyers Woad. From this plant the whole myriad of blue tones emerge, from dark to light, depending on the length of time which the plant is boiled. Dyers Woad and other plants are used to yield Indigo,which is the oldest and most important of all blue dye.

Madder Red : The roots of the madder plant yeild the dye used for most red colors.Depending on both the age of the roots and the length of time that they are boiled, the range of colours can vary from the deepest of reds to pinks and purples.Red signifies passion and is the colour of happiness and success.

Bright Yellow :Ox-Eye Camomile. The flowers from this plant, fresh or dried, are used along with an alum mordant to produce a bright yellow. Yellow used in rugs indicates plenty, riches and power.

Brown : Walnut Tree. The fruit is covered with a thick green rind which along with the leaves is often used by villagers for a green or blackish-brown dye. The effective colouring agent is the brown dye Juglone which adheres directly to wool fibers without a mordant (fixing agent).

Yellow/Brownish-Black : Pomegranate Tree.The fresh or dried skin of the fruit is used for dyeing and if used with an alum mordant a yellow brownish shade will result. If an iron mordant is used, a brownish-black shade will result. In Oriental carpets and kilims, the pomegranate is a symbol of fertility and abundance because of it's many seeds.

Deep Yellow/Green: Buckthorne. This plant grows only in Turkey on slopes with altitude of up to 3000 meters. The unripe fruits, fresh or dried are used to create a deep yellow dye. This versatile dye is ofen used to obtain secondary and tertiary colors.
Mordant : The use of a mordant as a fixing agent prevents bleeding or running of colours. The choice of mordant determines the variance in the colour of dye.

Please contact us at Tribal Collections and both Ruth or Faruk would be happy to assist you personally with any additional information or enquiries.