With the rise of online shopping, floor coverings, home textiles, carpets and kilims have joined almost every other product category in offering a nearly unlimited range of choices. Yet without the knowledge needed to compare them, many buyers either pay too much for an ordinary rug or pass over a genuinely good product simply because it is affordable. In this guide we answer the questions we hear most often: What is a carpet? Which raw materials are carpets made from? How can I understand a carpet's features? And how do I judge carpet quality? We will keep it as simple as possible.
What is a carpet, and how is it different from a kilim?
A carpet is a textile floor covering with a pile on its surface (think of the pile as the carpet's "hair"), woven by hand or by machine and used on floors — sometimes on walls — for thousands of years. Historically, carpets were mostly made from wool and cotton, with silk, alpaca and cashmere used for special pieces. Today most production is machine-made, which has introduced more affordable raw materials that reach a much wider audience.
A kilim, on the other hand, is a flat-woven floor covering without pile. Its pattern is created by the weft (horizontal) and warp (vertical) threads themselves. Kilims were especially common among nomadic communities, woven from wool or goat hair depending on the region. Since most of what you will find online is machine-made, the rest of this guide focuses on machine carpets.
Main types of machine-made carpets
1. Woven carpets
Woven carpets are usually produced on Jacquard looms with 6, 8 or up to 10 colours (the number of yarns the loom supports — it can be increased for special production). The base is formed by weft and warp, and the pile sits on the surface. The warp is usually polyamide for strength; the weft can be cotton (softer, but with higher shrinkage), jute (a natural fibre with virtually zero shrinkage) or polypropylene. The higher the density — the number of knots per square metre — the better the quality, the higher the price and the longer the carpet lasts.
2. Printed and tufted carpets
Printed rugs are usually plain polyamide (nylon) or polyester fabrics on which large industrial printers apply the design, much like a photo printed on paper. Their range is wide: from "waterprint" rugs that lose their look after one or two washes, to durable pieces whose price competes with woven carpets. Finished weights start at around 350 g/m² and go up to about 1,500 g/m², with backings ranging from felt and anti-slip dots to leather-look polyester. Most "I got it really cheap" rugs fall into this group and follow a use-and-replace logic.
Tufted carpets are produced on tufting machines, where needles punch yarn into a sack-like primary backing, much like embroidery. A secondary backing such as felt, ActionBac or softback is then applied, sometimes with an anti-slip adhesive. Tufted products are usually sold as wall-to-wall carpet in 4-metre rolls.
Pile materials: what is your carpet really made of?
When people talk about a carpet's material, they usually mean the pile — the part you actually see and touch. The most common pile fibres are acrylic, polypropylene, polyester, polyamide, wool, viscose, bamboo, cotton and Tencel. Acrylic, polypropylene (PP) and polyester are synthetic and the most widely used. Which one should you choose? Honestly, it depends on your budget: if budget is not an issue, choose wool or another natural fibre. For everyone else, here is a quick overview.
- Acrylic — soft, vivid in colour and very long-lasting. A densely woven, well-maintained acrylic carpet can easily be passed on to the next generation. It sheds a little at first, but after a few washes the shedding stops and the sheen increases. The fine dust can bother people with asthma in the early weeks, so clean it well at the start. Acrylic carpets cost more than other synthetics — and given their lifespan, they are worth it.
- Polypropylene (PP) — well suited to everyday home use. It does not build up static, has a more matte, understated look and burns slowly. Depending on use, it may start to mat after 5–7 years. It has no notable health drawbacks.
- Polyester — denser than polypropylene and better at producing brighter, softer and more vibrant carpets. It is suitable for piece dyeing and printing, so its use keeps growing. It is not the best performer when it comes to static electricity.
- Polyamide (nylon) — the highest-density fibre in the synthetic group, with excellent durability and one of the best materials for printing. Think of it as polyester, one step better and a little more expensive. Telling the two apart by eye is almost impossible.
Natural fibres
Natural fibres are compatible with the human body and pleasant to live with, which is why we generally recommend them.
- Cotton — a cellulosic fibre, often used (new or regenerated) for kilims. Easy to clean and harmless. Like a T-shirt washed hot, it shrinks: usually 3–4%, up to around 6% in loosely woven or regenerated-cotton pieces. The shrinkage happens once, not with every wash. Kept away from long exposure to sunlight and moisture, cotton keeps its colour for years. It is more affordable than acrylic and wool and ideal for summer.
- Viscose — another cellulosic fibre with a cool touch, which makes it a good choice for summer. It may shed slightly at first. Soft, bright and beautiful; usually somewhat pricier because the fibre is produced abroad.
- Tencel — cellulosic like viscose and cotton, with similar properties, a higher price than viscose and an even nicer feel (which does not make viscose a poor fibre — it is still top class).
- Bamboo — a very soft hand and beautiful colours make it one of the finest cellulosic fibres. Apart from cotton, cellulosic fibres are hard to tell apart.
- Wool — a protein fibre and one of nature's greatest gifts to textiles, widely used in clothing, blankets and traditional hand-knotted carpets. All wool qualities are good; the better the wool, the higher the price. A soft surface suggests sheep's wool, a coarse one goat hair (more common in kilims).
- Chenille — not a fibre but a yarn technique, usually in acrylic or polyester, whose wavy, heathered structure gives carpets a natural, sisal-like ground. Acrylic chenille is the more expensive option.
A simple burn test
Pull a single pile yarn and carefully burn it. A burnt paper smell means a cellulosic fibre (cotton, viscose, bamboo, Tencel). A burnt hair smell means a protein fibre such as wool. If the yarn melts and leaves a hard bead of residue, a synthetic fibre is present in the blend.
What does "quality" actually mean?
Modern quality control took shape after the First World War, when manufacturers moved from discarding faulty goods to preventing faults in the first place. In everyday language, "high quality" means premium materials and workmanship. In its true sense, however, quality is the degree to which a product meets the goal it was designed for. Premium combed organic cotton is excellent for underwear but would be the worst possible choice for a parachute; if your goal is the cheapest possible car, a brand-new luxury sedan is the "lowest quality" choice for you.
On the production side, quality is measured objectively: shrinkage of 3%, or a carpet targeted at 2 kg coming off the line at 1.9 kg, are data that steer production. For buyers, the takeaway is simple: you get the quality you pay for — and a carpet that lasts 20 years is far cheaper in the long run than a cheap one that lasts two months.
Quick answers
- Acrylic or polyester? Acrylic is better — and more expensive.
- Acrylic or polypropylene? Acrylic is better — and more expensive.
- Acrylic or wool? Wool, without a doubt — and naturally more expensive.
- Woven or printed? Woven is far better.
- Woven or tufted? Woven is far better.
- Viscose, cotton or bamboo? All natural fibres are good; price depends on production quality, so choose the one you like. With babies at home, cotton kilims or cotton throws over a carpet are an excellent choice.
Looking for a specific style? Browse our carpet collections or contact us for wholesale and project orders.
