What is woven carpet?

Combining time-honoured manufacturing techniques with hard-wearing materials and striking patterned designs, a woven carpet is the traditionalist’s choice for all-round longevity.

What is woven carpet?

Woven carpets have been regarded as the pinnacle of carpet making for over 400 years, owing to the meticulous skill and length of time required to produce them. Although expensive, they were seen as an investment, but this was back in a time when people stayed in the same house all their lives, and a carpet for the family home was expected to outlive even the family themselves! Modern carpet manufacturing techniques have created an abundance of different carpet choices these days, but for many, a woven carpet will always be the hallmark of a good quality, comfortable and affordable carpet.

How do you make a woven carpet?

It takes a lot longer to make a woven carpet than a saxony or twist carpet. This is because woven carpets are made by weaving the yarn all the way through the backing, resulting in a carpet with a firm, dense ‘barefoot’ feeling. The most common woven carpets are Wilton and Axminster carpets, and both have different production methods to give them their distinctive looks.

Types of woven carpets

There are a couple of different types of woven carpets available on the market, the most popular being Axminster and Wilton. Each have their own benefits and are actually made in different ways.

Axminster carpets are created by weaving the cut tufts of yarn (sometimes multiple yarns) directly with the backing fibres to create a strong and robust structure. This allows for colourful and intricate patterns to be created with immense precision, making Axminster carpets the perfect choice for those looking to add striking designs to their home.

Wilton carpets, on the other hand, are made by weaving the uncut yarn continuously into the carpet backing. Once this is complete, the yarn can be cut to make a cut pile carpet or left as a loop. This means Wilton carpets can offer a greater range of textures and finishes, but in a smaller number of colours.

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Are woven carpets good for heavy use?

Both manufacturing techniques create high quality, durable and thick woven carpets that can withstand heavy footfall, making them tough enough for commercial properties like hotels, restaurants and pubs. Think of a grand stately home you’ve seen with an ornate floral carpet – that’s probably the original woven carpet! Or a 5-star hotel with a tartan carpet throughout – only a woven carpet could hack the pace of all those visitors (and the pattern will hide a number of sins). And if you want to improve on perfection, pair a woven carpet with a felt and rubber crumb underlay for an unrivalled performance and comfort underfoot.

Woven vs tufted carpets

There are two main ways that carpets are manufactured – they can either be woven or tufted. We discuss in greater detail the difference between how these are manufactured in our guide to what is carpet, but here, we want to focus much more on the pros and cons of each here – so, where to begin?

Woven carpet has many advantages, the topmost being that it’s incredibly durable because of how it’s made, and it’s one of the more traditional looking carpets which means it never really goes out of style! Tufted carpet is more of a modern carpet, with long strands that can either be cut, to create pile carpets like saxony, twist, and velvet, or looped to create loop or Berber carpets.

Woven carpet has to be made on a loom, which means it’s both sturdier because of how it’s woven together, but also more expensive, because it requires skilled workers. Tufted carpets can be created in a much quicker and more modern way using machines, which makes it cheaper, but also less likely to hold together for a long time.

Pros and cons of woven carpet

We’ve labelled above some of the amazing benefits of woven carpet, – however, there are a couple of disadvantages to woven carpets, so here is a side-by-side for comparison:

Pros

Has stain resistant properties.
Pile bounces back so doesn’t easily show footprints or vacuum patterns.
Very durable in high traffic conditions.

Cons

Doesn’t have the same softness as cut pile carpets like saxony.
Tends to be quite expensive due to the way they are made.

Just like with any flooring material, there are different pros and cons that can help you decide if woven carpet is right for you. If you need any more information or would like to try some samples in your home, make sure you pop into your nearest Tapi store to speak with one of our amazing flooring experts.

How much does woven carpet cost?

Woven carpet prices vary depending on how much or little you would like to spend. You’ll often find that the more you spend on a carpet, the more choice you’ll have when it comes to colours, designs, widths, and qualities. Our cheapest woven carpets start from £25.99 per m2 and with fitting £5.30 per m2, it costs less than £400 to carpet a small 3x4 metre room (not including underlay, door bars, and grippers). Take a look at our collection of woven carpets online, then head to your nearest Tapi store to get a quote for your new carpet.

Post author

Jeremy Garrish Buyer Jeremy has 35 years of carpet industry knowledge

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Published: 16-03-2022

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