How are Moroccan carpets woven?

Moroccan carpets are distinguished from all others by their quality of manufacture and their timeless charm. Today, these carpets are the pride of Moroccan craftsmanship.

According to historians, the origins of these magnificent craft creations go back tens of thousands of years, more precisely to the Paleolithic era.

Today, carpets are named after different Moroccan regions/cities/tribes. There are, for example, the Taznakht carpet, the Azilal carpet, the Beni Ouarain carpet, the Zayane carpet and the Habal carpet.

These carpets differ from one another in size, colour and pattern, grating (fringe finish) and material. But how are these carpets woven? What is Berber weaving?

What is a Berber weaving?

The art of Berber carpet making is an ancient art. Amazigh woman have mastered and developed the techniques of carpet making over time.

The use of wool as a natural manufacturing material goes back thousands of years. It is the quality of the wool that determines the value of a carpet as well as its aesthetic aspect.

Berber weaving is the meticulous and repetitive process of transforming simple wool threads into a magnificent carpet.

The women's task is to weave the threads under and over the threads of a warp. This is a process that allows the wool threads to be interwoven to obtain carpets with different patterns/colours and sizes.

Based on an ancestral expertise, the art of Berber weaving allows us to obtain carpets with an impressive diversity of shades. Although traditional hand weaving is an ancient process, it remains the only technique that allows the creation of valuable carpets.

How are Moroccan rugs made?

The stages of manufacture of a Moroccan carpet are different from one region to another, but remain almost the same. There are five steps to obtaining high quality Berber carpets and craftsmanship.

The first step is to collect or buy the wool. Moroccan women choose soft, silky and dense wool.

The second step is washing. This step is very important to get rid of impurities and residues.

Then comes the preparation of the material to be woven. The wool is cut into different sizes. The short wool is used to create flat carpets, while the long wool is used to make soft carpets of generous dimensions.

The Berber weavers then use the t'di and the immerguel. The t'di is used to take up the structure of the carpet to be woven. The immerguel, made up of various wooden and metal parts, is the structure of the weaving.

Moroccan artists then start weaving. This is a job that requires a lot of patience and experience. Once the Moroccan Berber carpethas been woven, all that remains is to wash it and leave it to dry in the sun!