namazlik (T) nasqsh doa (P)   Prayer rug.

naqsh   A design or pattern.

nassag-bafendeh (P)   Weaver.

node    One loop of a pile knot around a warp when viewed from the back of a rug.

O

odjakhlik (T)   A rug used in front of a fireplace.

offset   See "warp offset."

ok-bash (T)   Tent pole cover.

overcasting   A treatment of selvages consisting of a yarn wrapping or interweaving with yarn that is not continuous with foundation weft.

P

painting   Applying dye, stain or color to the front of the rug after the rug is woven.  Exposed foundation is sometimes painted to conceal wear.

palas   A Caucasian flatweave rug.

pardeh   See "ensi."

pashm (P)   Wool.

Persian knot   See "asymmetric knot."

Persian yarn   A soft-spun, 3-ply yarn made up of medium-twist 2-ply yarns.

pile   Nap of the rug.  The tufts remaining after the knotted yarn is clipped.

pillar rug   A Chinese pile rug designed to be wrapped around a pillar or column.  The design is not complete unless the edges of the rug abut.

plain weave   The simplest interlacing of warp and weft in which there is only one weft in each of two sheds composed of alternating warps.

plug   A piece from another rug sewn or woven into a hole in a rug.

ply   Two or more yarns spun together make a ply or plied yarn.

prayer rug   A rug with representation of a mihrab or prayer niche.  Columns may be shown supporting the arch and a lamp may be shown hanging from the apex of the arch.  A double prayer rug is one showing a niche at either end as a mirror image.  See "saph."

Prophet's green   Shades of green derived from combinations indigo blue and yellow obtained from either yellow larkspur or unripe berries of a plant of the buckthorn family.  this was thought to be the color of Mohammed's banner.

provenance   The source or origin.  When applied to rugs, provenance refers to the place of origin, the weavers of the rug and the time of origin.

pu (P)   A row of knots in a carpet.

pud (P)   Weft.

pushti   A Persian mat of about 3 ft. by 2 ft.

Q

qali (P)   any rug larger than about 6 ft. by 9 ft.

R

rang (P)   Dye, color.

rang-raz (P)   Dyer.

rang shodeh (P)   "Color has been given."  A painted rug.

rofu (P)   Repair.  To repair so that it may not be evident.

S

"S" spun   Yarn spun in  clockwise direction.  The diagonal in the "S" suggests the direction of spin.

sadden   To add ingredients to the dye bath which mute or darken the color.

saddle bags  Two bags or pouches connected so they can be thrown over the back of a horse or donkey.  The outside faces may be pile while the inside faces are flatwoven.   Typically, a pair of bags is about 2 ft. by 4 ft.

Safavid   Refers to rugs made during the Safavid dynasty in Persia between 1500 and 1730.

saijada (P)   Prayer rug.

salt bag   A bag of distinctive shape that may have a pile face.  It is used to store salt or grain.

saph, saff   A prayer rug containing multiple niches in a row, sometimes referred to as a family prayer rug.

selvage, selvedge   The edge warps of a rug and the foundation wefts passing around those warps.

Senneh knot   See "asymmetric knot."

sezar (P)   Three zars.  A rug approximately 7 12/ ft. by 5 ft.

shade   A hue with an admixture of white, black or grey.

shed   The opening formed through the warps when alternate warps are raised to permit the shuttle and weft to pass through the warps.  There is one shed for each set of warps, depending on whether even or odd-numbered warps are raised.

shoot, shot, pick   A weft or the passage of a weft through a shed.

shotori (P)   Camel-colored or naturally brown sheep wool.

sili   See "zili."

singles yarn   An unplied yarn consisting of fibers all spun in the same direction.

sinuous weft   When warps are offset or depressed, wefts are alternately straight or bending in their passage through the warps.  The bending weft is termed a "sinuous" weft and the straight weft is termed a "cable" weft.  See "cable weft."

sizing   Starch or glue added to yarns or fabrics to increase their smoothness, stiffness or bulk.

skein   A coil of yarn.

skirt   See "elem."

sofreh (P)   A cloth of which food is served.

soumak   A flatwoven rug using supplementary wefts in a weft-wrapping technique, usually producing a herringbone effect.

silk weave   A tapestry weave in which wefts of different colors reverse direction on adjacent warps.  Where several rows of wefts reverse direction on the same adjacent warps, a slit in the fabric results.

Spanish knot   A pile knot on a single warp.  This knot is thought to have originated in North Africa.

spandrel   Designs spanning the corners of a rug and the areas in either corner above a mihrab.

spin   The relative direction of twist of yarns, "Z" spun or "S" spun.

staple   The average length of fibers in a yarn.

supplementary weft   A weft that is not structurally essential to a fabric that is added to create a textured or ornamental effect.

supplementary weft float patterning   Ornamentation of a ground fabric with supplementary wefts, continuous from selvage to selvage, that skip over two or more adjacent warps.

suzanduz (P)   Coarse needlework patterning on flatwoven rugs.  The term is incorrectly applied to soumac weave.

suzanni (P)   embroidered needlework used as wall hangings and bed covers.

symmetric knot   The Turkish (Turkbaff) or Giordes knot.  This knot is tied on two warps as shown:

Glossary of Terms A through L
Glossary of Terms G through M
Glossary of Terms N through S
Glossary of Terms T through Z