While tufted and woven carpets may look similar at first glance, their manufacture is quite different and so too are performance and design capability. Therefore, knowing exactly what the differences are is not just carpet geekery, it’s essential information for anyone involved in specifying carpet.
WOVEN CARPET
Carpet weaving is the most traditional way to make carpet; To make a woven carpet, a loom interlaces face yarns (generally a blend of wool) and jute or synthetic backing yarns to create the carpet. once the carpet is removed from the loom, a thin coating of latex is applied to the back to lock the tufts in place. There are two types of carpet weaving, Wilton and Axminster, each a variation on the weaving process.
WOVEN AXMINSTER CARPET
With the axminster method, each individually coloured yarn is selected by the loom, cut and inserted as a ‘U’ shaped tuft wherever needed, often creating intricate patterns. Most of the yarn is on the surface with relatively little in the back.
WOVEN WILTON CARPET
Wilton weaving generally involves fewer colours with the yarn running continuously, either at the surface or in the back. Whichever weaving method is used, the result is much the same; a beautiful, high-quality and dimensionally stable carpet suitable for heavy-wear applications.