HISTORY

History        The name Belouch (AKA Baluchi, Balouch, Beluch or Beluchi) means nomad.  The Balouch  are a large ethno-linguistic tribal group who occupy a vast area of Eastern Iran, Afghanistan and Western Pakistan.   This group weave rugs that are similar in color  and construction to the Balouch rugs.  Balouch Type weavers include Aimaks, Pashtuns, Mushwani, Farsiwan, Ghor, and the Brahui.    Most of our rugs were woven by refugee Belouch and tribesmen, who fled from Afghanistan during the Afghan-Soviet War and settled in the towns of Peshawar and Quetta in western Pakistan.          These rugs are no cookie-cutter rugs.   The tribal weavers' combination of workmanship and artistic restraint achieve well balanced designs and colorations for each rug.  These hand-made, hand-knotted rugs are often not perfectly square and designs often lack complete symmetry.  However, those are  features that make up the rug's character and uniqueness.  Other great things about these rugs is the varied and design influences that are employed.  These rugs also reflect East meets West.  The Afghan refugees who weave these rugs have exposed to Pakistani, Iranian and Afghan rug making styles brought to western Pakistan by the many other refugees from these countries.  These are well made rugs with good quality wool, and they will bring you many years  pleasure.
Rug Construction & Weave Type  Pile Weave Construction: The pile of the carpet is created by tying a short length of yarn (wool or silk) around two two adjacent warp strands (wool, silk or cotton), so that the ends of the yarn protrude upwards to form the surface (or pile) of the rug.  This is referred to as knotting, which generally begins at the side of the rug, by tying a knot on each pair of warp strands in a horizontal direction, across the width of the rug.  The row of knots tied are generally beaten down to create the necessary compactness required before continuing on the other rows of knots.        There are two principal types of knots that are used in rug weaving (pile).  The first one is called double knot, Turkish knot, or Ghiordes knot and naturally given a firmer weave yielding to a stronger and more durable carpet.  The second one is known as the single knot, Persian knot, or Senneh knot.   The Turkish knot is strand  of yarn encircling two warp threads, with the loose ends drawn tightly between the two warps. The Persian knot is a strand of yarn that encircles one warp threads and winds loosely around the other warp.  One loose end pulled through the two warps, while the other end goes to the outside of the paired warps.
Ghiordes Knot (Turkish)	Senneh Knot (Persian)
Flat Weaves Construction: This category of rugs (known as Kilims and Soumaks), are generally referred to as flat weaves.  The Kilims are made by tightly interweaving the warp and weft strands to create a flat surface( non piled ).  The design is produced by threading the weft strands and then looping them back around the last warp thread used.  Consequently, the weft strands form the pattern on the face of the rug, which is clearly visible from either side of the rug.     The Soumak technique is primarily associated with the Caucasian weaving group.  The design is created by wrapping a weft thread around four or more warp  strands, and then drawing it back and wrapping it around two warp strands.  The easiest way to recognize a Soumak is to turn the rug over and note the shaggy like unclipped weft strands hanging from the back.
Kilim Weave	Soumak Weave
Rug Construction Materials         Rugs and the various flat waves are made from five basic materials; sheep wool, goat hair, cotton, floss silk, and silk.  The quality of wool varies according to the climate, the breed of sheep, and the time of year of the shearing. Sheep Wool:  The quality of wool varies according to the climate, the breed of sheep, and the time of year of the shearing.  Wool from sheep that live in  warm and arid regions is normally dry and brittle, and since it breaks so easily, it ends up being short and feels lifeless.  Good quality wool comes from healthy and well fed sheep found in cold regions or at high elevations with good grazing lands and lots of water.  In the colder regions, sheep grow a full fleece to keep warm and their bodies store fat which then translates to a high lanolin content within the fiber which reaches lengths of 10 cm. and more.  The wool so obtained feels silky  smooth and yet springy.  Wool from the higher elevations (cooler also) and from the spring shearing is considered to be the highest quality.  Wool is hand spun by using primitive utensils called kirmen (drop spindle) and by spinning wheels. Women usually spin the wool during idle moments and the street while spinning.  In hand spun wool, the original length of the fiber stays the same through the spinning process - a fiber that measured 7 cm. before spinning will still measure the same after spinning.  Wool can also industrially spun, but the hard twisting of the fibers by the spinning machines tends to break some of the fibers.  Although the  broken bits and shorter fibers can be made to adhere together through the use of oils during the spinning process, the fiber will have lost some of its strength, which, in turn, will shorten the life spun of the rugs to be woven. Cotton:  In rug and Kilim weaving, cotton is used mostly for the warp threads, as well as for the wefts. Compared to wool, cotton is generally considered to be a more resistant fiber and it is less elastic.  Thus, tighter knots can be tied on cotton warps as opposed to wool.  If very tight knot are tied to a wool warp, the fiber will break much more frequently than if the warps were of cotton. Consequently, woolen pile rugs with high knotting density counts will normally have cotton warps, for example, in Hereke, Ladik, and Kayseri Bunyan carpets. Goat Hair:  Goat hair occasionally found in oriental rugs in the side bindings (selvedge), but is more frequently found in saddle bags, cushions, various types of stacks, etc. Floss Silk:  Floss silk, or art silk as it is some times called, is actually mercerized cotton and is used in certain rugs that are woven in Kayseri. Although not identical to silk, a somewhat similar look is obtained by mixing cypress tree fibers with cotton that has been washed in citric acid.  Floss silk rugs are woven with natural cotton warp and weft threads. Pure Silk:  The silk used in Turkish carpet comes from silk cocoons in Bursa.  It has a very high tensile strength and can be twisted very finely, plus it is quite resistant.  The finest silk comes from the first part of the amazingly long single thread with witch silk warm spins its cocoons.  When rolled, the thread from one silk cocoon can stretch up to 25,000 meters.  The best and the finest hand-woven rugs in the world are Hereke silk rugs.  A normal quality silk Hereke should have 1,000,000 knots per square meter.  To day with tremendous care, attention and density, some exceptional Hereke silk rugs are woven with 3,240,000 knots per square meter; that is 18 knots vertically on 1 cm. and 18 knots horizontally on 1 cm.  This indicates how finely the silk can be twisted and woven, as well as how  strong and resistant this piles can be.