The Final Stage of a Rug Restoration Project - Shearing Reknotted Sections

 

When a rug is knotted, or reknotted in the case of a rug restoration project, a weaver will use long yarns to knot wool motifs against a grid-like warp and weft.  The yarns have to be long-ish for a weaver to be able to manipulate them.  Because of their length, the knotted motifs close to the base of the rug are not always very clear to a weaver.  Only after the reknotting is done will a weaver cut the excess yarn down so that the pile is of a uniform (short) length.  The shearing can be done either with scissors or with a mechanical shearing tool shown above.  No matter how it is done, the shearing allows for the pattern to reveal itself more clearly.  This is a very enjoyable part of a restoration project as the shearing makes it look like the pattern somehow magically appears (and it also signifies the project is almost done!).  ---www.traditionalrugrepair.com