Carpet

In this episode of the I Can't Sleep Podcast, fall asleep learning about carpets. What?! Carpets? Yep, the stuff you walk on all the time probably smells and needs a cleaning. What a perfect subject to settle your mind tonight. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep podcast,

Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster.

Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled,

Carpet.

A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing.

The pile was traditionally made from wool,

But since the 20th century,

Synthetic fibers such as polypropylene,

Nylon,

Or polyester are often used,

As these fibers are less expensive than wool.

The pile usually consists of twisted tufts that are typically heat treated to maintain their structure.

The term carpet is often used in a similar context to the term rug,

But rugs are typically considered to be smaller than a room and not attached to the floor.

Carpets are used for a variety of purposes,

Including insulating a person's feet from a cold tile or concrete floor,

Making a room more comfortable as a place to sit on the floor,

E.

G.

When playing with children or as a prayer rug,

Reducing sound from walking,

Particularly in apartment buildings,

And adding decoration or color to a room.

Carpets can be made in any color by using differently dyed fibers.

Carpets can have many different types of patterns and motifs used to decorate the surface.

Carpets are used in industrial and commercial establishments such as retail stores and hotels and in private homes.

Today,

A huge range of carpets and rugs are available at many price and quality levels,

Ranging from inexpensive synthetic carpets that are mass produced in factories and used in commercial buildings to costly hand-knotted wool rugs that are used in private homes and houses.

Carpets can be produced on a loom quite similarly to woven fabric,

Made using needle felts knotted by hand in oriental rugs,

Made with their pile injected into a backing material called tufting,

Flat woven,

Made by hooking wool or cotton through the meshes of a sturdy fabric or embroidered.

Carpet is commonly made in widths of 12 feet and 15 feet in the US and 4 meters and 5 meters in Europe.

Since the 19th and 20th century,

Where necessary for wall-to-wall carpet,

Different widths of carpet can be seamed together with a seaming iron and seam tape,

Formerly it was sewn together,

And fixed to a floor over a cushioned underlay pad using nails,

Tack strips,

Known in the UK as gripper rods,

Adhesives,

Or occasionally decorative metal stair rods.

Wall-to-wall carpet is distinguished from rugs or mats,

Which are loose-laid floor coverings,

As wall-to-wall carpet is fixed to the floor and covers a much larger area.

Etymology and Usage The term carpet comes from Old French carpite.

One derivation of the term states that the French term came from the Old Italian carpita,

From the verb capire,

Meaning to pluck.

The online etymology dictionary states that the term carpet was first used in English in the late 13th century,

With the meaning coarse cloth and by the mid 14th century table cloth or bedspread.

The online etymology dictionary states that the term comes from Old French carpite,

Heavy decorated cloth,

Carpet,

From Medieval Latin or Old Latin carpita,

Thick woolen cloth,

Probably from Latin carpere,

To card,

Pluck,

Probably so called because it was made from unraveled shredded plucked fabric.

The meaning of the term carpet shifted in the 15th century to refer to floor coverings.

The term carpet is often used interchangeably with the term rug.

Some sources define a carpet as stretching from wall to wall.

Another definition treats rugs as of lower quality or of smaller size,

With carpets quite often having finished ends.

A third common definition is that a carpet is permanently fixed in place while a rug is simply laid out on the floor.

Historically the term carpet was also applied to table and wall coverings,

As carpets were not commonly used on the floor in European interiors until the 15th century.

The term rug was first used in English in the 1550s with the meaning coarse fabric.

The term is of Scandinavian origin,

Compare Norwegian dialect rugge,

Coarse,

Coverlet,

From Old Norse røg,

Shaggy tuft,

From Poto-Germanic røg,

Perhaps related to rag and røg.

The meaning of rug evolved to coverlet wrap,

Then mat for the floor.

Types.

Woven.

A carpet is produced on a loom quite similar to woven fabric.

The pile can be plush or berber.

Plush carpet is a cut pile and berber carpet is a loop pile.

There are new styles of carpet combining the two styles called cut and loop carpeting.

Normally many colored yarns are used and this process is capable of producing intricate patterns from predetermined designs,

Although some limitations apply to certain weaving methods with regard to accuracy of pattern within the carpet.

These carpets are usually the most expensive due to the relatively slow speed of the manufacturing process.

These are very famous in Turkey,

Iran,

India,

Pakistan,

And Arabia.

Needle felt.

These carpets are more technologically advanced.

Needle felts are produced by intermingling and felting individual synthetic fibers using barbed and forked needles forming an extremely durable carpet.

These carpets are normally found in commercial settings where there is frequent traffic,

Such as hotels and restaurants.

Notted.

On a knotted pile carpet,

Formerly a supplementary weft cut loop pile carpet,

The structural weft threads alternate with a supplementary weft that rises at right angles to the surface of the weave.

This supplementary weft is attached to the warp by one of three knot types,

Such as shag carpet,

Which was popular in the 1970s,

To form the pile or nap of the carpet.

Weaving by hand is most prevalent in oriental rugs and carpets.

Casimir carpets are also hand knotted.

Pile carpets,

Like flat carpets,

Can be woven on a loom.

Both vertical and horizontal looms have been used in the production of European and oriental carpets.

The warp threads are set up on the frame of the loom before weaving begins.

A number of weavers may work together on the same carpet.

A row of knots is completed and cut.

The knots are secured with usually one to four rows of weft.

The warp in the woven carpet is usually cotton and the weft is jute.

There are several styles of knotting,

But the two main types of knot are the symmetrical,

Also called Turkish or Gyordez,

And asymmetrical,

Also called Persian or Senna.

The importance of carpet in the culture of Turkmenistan is such that the national flag features a vertical red stripe near the hoist side,

Containing five carpet gulls,

Designs used in producing rugs.

Casimir is known for hand knotted carpets of silk or wool.

Tufted.

These are carpets that have their pile injected into a backing material,

Which is itself then bonded to a secondary backing made of woven Hessian weave or a man-made alternative to provide stability.

The pile is often sheared in order to achieve different textures.

This is the most common method of manufacturing of domestic carpets for floor covering purposes in the world.

Others.

A flat weave carpet is created by interlocking warp,

Vertical,

And weft horizontal threads.

The types of Oriental flat woven carpet include kilim,

Sumac,

Plain weave,

And tapestry weave.

Types of European flat woven carpets include Venetian,

Dutch,

Damascus,

Liszt,

Hair cloth,

And ingrain,

Aka double cloth,

Two ply,

Triple cloth,

Or three ply.

A hooked rug is a simple type of rug,

Handmade by pulling strips of cloth such as wool or cotton through the meshes of a sturdy fabric such as burlap.

This type of rug is now generally made as a handicraft.

The process of creating a hooked rug is called rug hooking.

Unlike woven carpets,

Embroidery carpets are not formed on a loom.

Their pattern is established by the application of stitches to a cloth,

Often linen base.

The tent stitch and the cross stitch are two of the most common.

Embroidered carpets were traditionally made by royal and aristocratic women in the home,

But there has been some commercial manufacture since steel needles were introduced.

Earlier needles were made of bone,

And linen weaving improved in the 16th century.

Mary,

Queen of Scots,

Is known to have been an avid embroiderer.

16th century designs usually involve scrolling vines and regional flowers,

For example the Bradford carpet.

They often incorporate animal heraldry and the coat of arms of the maker.

Production continued through the 19th century.

Victorian embroidered carpet compositions include highly illusionistic three-dimensional flowers.

Patterns for tile carpets made of a number of squares called Berlin wool work were introduced in Germany in 1804 and became extremely popular in England in the 1830s.

Embroidered carpets can also include other features such as a pattern of shapes,

Or they can even tell a story.

Fibers and Yarns Carpet can be formulated from many single or blended natural and synthetic fibers.

Fibers are chosen for durability,

Appearance,

Ease of manufacture,

And cost.

In terms of scale of production,

The dominant yarn constructions are polyamides,

Nylons,

And polypropylene with an estimated 90% of the commercial market.

Nylon Since the 20th century,

Nylon is one of the most common materials for the construction of carpets.

Both nylon 6 and nylon 6-6 are used.

Nylon can be dyed topically or dyed in a molten state,

Solution dyeing.

Nylon can be printed easily and has excellent wear characteristics.

Due to nylon's excellent wear resistance,

It is widely used in industrial and commercial carpeting.

In carpets,

Nylon tends to stain easily due to the presence of dye sites.

These dye sites need to be filled in order to give nylon carpet any type of stain resistance.

As nylon is petroleum based,

It varies in price with the price of oil.

Polypropylene Polypropylene or polyophiline,

Stiffer than the cheaper polyethylene,

Is used to produce carpet yarns because it is still less expensive than the other materials used for carpets.

It is difficult to dye and does not wear as well as wool or nylon.

Polypropylene,

Sometimes referred to simply as olefin,

Is commonly used to construct berber carpets.

Large looped olefin berber carpets are usually only suited for light domestic use and tend to mat down quickly.

Berber carpets with smaller loops tend to be more resilient and retain their new appearance longer than large looped berber styles.

Commercial grade level loop carpets have very small loops and commercial grade cut pile styles can be well constructed.

When made with polypropylene,

Commercial grade styles wear very well,

Making them very suitable for areas with heavy foot traffic such as offices.

Polypropylene carpets are known to have good stain resistance,

But not against oil based agents.

If a stain does set,

It can be difficult to clean.

Commercial grade carpets can be glued directly to the floor or installed over a quarter inch thick eight pound density padding.

Outdoor grass carpets are usually made from polypropylene.

Wool and wool blends Wool has excellent durability,

Can be dyed easily,

And is fairly abundant.

When blended with synthetic fibers such as nylon,

The durability of wool is increased.

Blended wool yarns are extensively used in production of modern carpet,

With the most common blend being 80% wool to 20% synthetic fiber,

Giving rise to the term 80-20.

Wool is relatively expensive and consequently it only comprises a small portion of the market.

Polyester The polyester known as PET is used in carpet manufacturing in both spun and filament constructions.

After the price of raw materials for many types of carpet rose in the early 2000s,

Polyester became more competitive.

Polyester has good physical properties and is inherently stain resistant because it is hydrophobic.

However,

Oil based stains can pose a problem for this type of material and it can be prone to soiling.

Similar to nylon,

Color can be added after production or it can be infused in a molten state solution dyeing.

Polyester has the disadvantage that it tends to crush or mat down easily.

It is typically used in mid to low priced carpeting.

Another polyester,

PTT,

Also called Serona or 3GT DuPont or Corterra Shell,

Is a variant of PET.

Lourgy Zimmer PTT was first patented in 1941,

But it was not produced until the 1990s when Shell Chemicals developed the low cost method of producing high quality 1,

3-propanediol PDO,

The starting raw material for PTT Corterra polymers.

DuPont subsequently commercialized a biological process for making 1,

3-propanediol from corn syrup imparting significant renewable content on the corresponding Serona polyester carpet fibers.

These carpet fibers have resiliency comparable to nylon.

Acrylic Acrylic is a synthetic material first created by the DuPont Corporation in 1941,

But has gone through various changes since it was first introduced.

In the past,

Acrylic carpet used to fuzz or pill easily.

This happened when the fibers degraded over time and short strands broke away with contact or friction.

Over the years,

New types of acrylics have been developed to alleviate some of these problems,

Although the issues have not been completely removed.

Acrylic is fairly difficult to dye,

But is colorfast,

Washable,

And has the feel and appearance of wool,

Making it a good rug fabric.

History The knotted pile carpet probably originated in the Caspian Sea area,

Northern Iran,

Or the Armenian highland.

Although there is evidence of goats and sheep being sheared for wool and hair which was spun and woven as far back as the 7th millennium BC,

The earliest surviving pile carpet is the Paziric carpet,

Which dates from the 5th to 4th century BC.

It was excavated by Sergei Ivanovich Rudenko in 1949 from a Paziric burial mound in the Altai Mountains in Siberia.

This richly colored carpet is 200 by 183 centimeters and framed by a border of griffins.

Although claimed by many cultures,

This square tufted carpet,

Almost perfectly intact,

Is considered by many experts to be of Caucasian,

Specifically,

Armenian origin.

The rug is woven using the Armenian double knot,

And the red filament's color was made from Armenian cochineal.

The eminent authority of ancient carpets,

Ulrik Shurman,

Says of it,

".

.

.

From all the evidence available,

I am convinced that the Paziric rug was a funeral accessory,

And most likely a masterpiece of Armenian workmanship.

" Gonshorn concurs with this thesis.

At the ruins of Persepolis in Iran where various nations are depicted as bearing tribute,

The horse design from the Paziric carpet is the same as the relief depicting part of the Armenian delegation.

The historian Herodotus writing in the 5th century B.

C.

Also informs us that the inhabitants of the Caucasus wove beautiful rugs with brilliant colors which would never fade.

Afghanistan There has recently been a surge in demand for Afghan carpets,

Although many Afghan carpet manufacturers market their products under the name of a different country.

The carpets are made in Afghanistan as well as by Afghan refugees who reside in Pakistan and Iran.

Famous Afghan rugs include the Shindand or Adreskin,

Named after local Afghan villages,

Woven in the Herat area in western Afghanistan.

Afghan carpets are commonly known as Afghan rugs.

Afghan carpets are a unique and well-recognized handmade material design that originates from Afghanistan.

They often exhibit intricate detailing,

Mainly using traditional tribal designs originating from the Turkmen,

Kazakh,

Baloch,

And Uzbeks.

The handmade rugs come in many patterns and colors,

Yet the traditional and most common example of Afghan carpet is the octagon-shaped elephant foot Bukhara.

The rugs with this print are most commonly red in color.

Many dyes,

Such as vegetable dyes,

Are used to impart rich color.

Armenia Various rug fragments have been excavated in Armenia dating back to the 7th century B.

C.

Or earlier.

The oldest single surviving knotted carpet in existence is the Pazirik carpet,

Excavated from a frozen tomb in Siberia,

Dated from the 5th to the 3rd century B.

C.

,

Now in the Hermitage Museum in St.

Petersburg.

This square-tufted carpet,

Almost perfectly intact,

Is considered by many experts to be of Caucasian,

Specifically Armenian,

Origin.

The eminent authority of ancient carpets,

Ulrik Shurman,

Says of it,

From all the evidence available,

I am convinced that the Pazirik rug was a funeral accessory and most likely a masterpiece of Armenian workmanship.

Gansorn concurs with this thesis at the ruins of Persopolis in Iran where various nations are depicted as bearing tribute.

The horse design from the Pazirik carpet is the same as the relief depicting part of the Armenian delegation.

Armenian carpets were renowned by foreigners who traveled to Artsakh.

The Arab geographer and historian Almasudi noted that,

Among other works of art,

He had never seen such carpets elsewhere in his life.

Art historian Harvard Hakobayan notes that Artsakh carpets occupy a special place in the history of Armenian carpet making.

Common themes and patterns found in Armenian carpets were the depiction of dragons and eagles.

They were diverse in style,

Rich in color and ornamental motifs,

And were even separated in categories depending on what sort of animals were depicted on them,

Such as Artsvagorgs eagle carpets,

Vishagorgs dragon carpets,

And Atsagorgs serpent carpets.

The rug mentioned in the Koptavan inscription is composed of three arches,

Covered with vegetative ornaments,

And bears an artistic resemblance to the illuminated manuscripts produced in Artsakh.

The art of carpet weaving was in addition intimately connected to the making of curtains,

As evidenced in a passage by Kirakos Kanzaketsi,

A 13th century Armenian historian from Artsakh,

Who praised Arzu Khatun,

The wife of regional prince Vaktang Khachanetsi and her daughters,

For their expertise in skill in weaving.

Azerbaijan The Gultabin excavations discovered several carpet weaving tools which date back to the 4th to 3rd millennium BC.

According to Iranica Online,

The main weaving zone was in the eastern Transcaucasus south of the mountains that bisect the region diagonally,

The area now comprised of the Azerbaijan SSR.

It is the homeland of a Turkic population known today as Azeri.

Other ethnic groups also practiced weaving,

Some of them in other parts of the Caucasus,

But they were of lesser importance.

Azerbaijan was one of the most important centers of carpet weaving,

And as a result of that,

Several different schools have evolved.

While traditionally schools are divided into four main branches,

Each region has its own version of the carpets.

The schools are divided into four main branches,

Kuba Shirvan,

Ganja Kazak Carpet Weaving School,

The Baku Carpet School,

Karabakh School of Carpet Weaving.

Carpet weaving is a family tradition in Azerbaijan which is transferred verbally and with practicing and also associated with the daily life and customs of its people.

A variety of carpet and rug types are made in Azerbaijan such as silk,

Wool,

Gold and silver threads,

Pile and pile-less carpets,

As well as kilim,

Sumakh,

Zili,

Verni,

Mafrashi,

And kurjian.

In 2010,

Traditional art of Azerbaijan carpet weaving was added to the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity of UNESCO.

China As opposed to most antique rug manufacturing practices,

Chinese carpets were woven almost exclusively for internal consumption.

China has a long history of exporting traditional goods,

However it was not until the first half of the 19th century that the Chinese began to export their rugs.

Once in contact with Western influences,

There was a large change in production.

Chinese manufactories began to produce art deco rugs with commercial look and price point.

The centuries old Chinese textile industry is rich in history,

While most antique carpets are classified according to a specific region or manufactory,

Scholars attribute the age of any specific Chinese rug to the ruling emperor of the time.

The earliest surviving examples of the craft were produced during the time of Cheng Chen,

The last emperor of the Chen dynasty.

India Carpet weaving may have been introduced into the area as far back as the 11th century with the coming of the first Muslim conquerors,

The Ghaznavids and the Gauris from the West.

It can with more certainty be traced to the beginning of the Mughal dynasty in the early 16th century when the last successor of Timur Babur extended his rule from Kabul to India to found the Mughal Empire.

After the patronage of the Mughals,

Indian craftsmen adopted Persian techniques and designs.

Carpets woven in the Punjab made use of motifs and decorative styles found in Mughal architecture.

Akbar,

A Mughal emperor,

Is accredited to introducing the art of carpet weaving to India during his reign.

The Mughal emperors patronized Persian carpets for their royal courts and palaces.

During this period he brought Persian craftsmen from their homeland and established them in India.

Initially,

These Mughal carpets showed the classic Persian style of fine knotting,

Then gradually the style blended with Indian art.

Thus,

The carpets produced became typical of Indian origin and the industry began to diversify and spread all over the subcontinent.

During the Mughal period,

Carpets made on the Indian subcontinent became so famous that demand for them spread abroad.

These carpets had distinctive designs and boasted a high density of knots.

Carpets made for the Mughal emperors included Jahangir and Shah Jahan were the finest quality.

Under Shah Jahan's reign,

Mughal carpet weaving took on a new aesthetic and entered its classical phase.

Indian carpets are well known for their designs with attention to detail and presentation of realistic attributes.

The carpet industry in India flourished more in its northern part with major centers found in Kashmir,

Jaipur,

Agra,

And Bahadur.

Indian carpets are known for their high density of knotting.

Hand knotted carpets are a specialty and widely in demand in the West.

The carpet industry in India has been successful in establishing social business models that help underprivileged sections of the society.

Notable examples of social entrepreneurship ventures are Jaipur rugs and the Fabindia retail chain.

Another category of Indian rugs which,

Though quite popular in most Western countries,

Have not received much press is hand woven rugs of Karabad.

Karabad,

A small city in Sitipur district of India,

Had been ruled by Raja Memudabad.

Karabad was part of Ud province which had been ruled by Shi Muslims having Persian linkages.

Sitipur rugs made in Karabad and neighboring areas are hand woven and distinct from tufted and knotted rugs.

Flat weave is the basic weaving technique of Sitipur rugs,

And generally cotton is the main weaving material here but jute,

Rayon,

And chenille are also popular.

IKEA and Agotcha have been major buyers of rugs from this area.

Modern Carpeting and Installation Carpet is commonly made in widths of 12 feet and 15 feet in the US,

4 meters and 5 meters in Europe.

Where necessary different widths can be seamed together with a seaming iron and seam tape,

And it is fixed to a floor over a cushioned underlay using nails,

Tack strips,

Adhesives,

Or occasionally decorative metal stair rods,

Thus distinguishing it from rugs or mats which are loose laid floor coverings.

For environmental reasons the use of wool,

Natural bindings,

Natural padding,

And formaldehyde free glues is becoming more common.

These options are also always at a premium cost.

In the UK some carpets are still manufactured for yachts,

Hotels,

Pubs,

And clubs in a narrow width of 27 inches and then sewn to size.

Carpeting which covers an entire room area is loosely referred to as wall to wall,

But carpet can be installed over any portion thereof with use of appropriate transition moldings where the carpet meets other types of floor coverings.

Carpeting is more than just a single item.

It is in fact a system comprising the carpet itself,

The carpet backing,

Often made of latex,

The cushioning underlay,

And a method of insulation.

Carpet tiles are also available typically 50 cm square.

These are usually only used in commercial settings and are affixed using a special pressure sensitive glue which holds them into place while allowing easy removal in an office environment for example,

Or to allow rearrangement in order to spread wear.

Throughout the world commercial carpet cleaning for yachts,

Hotels,

Clubs,

And pubs is also a major industry.

Rates for cleaning vary with hotel restaurants being on the highest end due to frequency of traffic and staining.

In such environments clean flooring is essential from both a pest extermination and public health liability standpoint as well as maintaining the overall look and customer satisfaction of the establishment.

Given the importance of upkeep it is customary in full service hotels with on-site food and beverage outlets for the commercial carpet cleaner to be extended privileges as the lord of the inn such as on the house upgraded accommodations,

Personal chef services,

In-room entertainment,

And ability to pay gratuity on hotel house accounts.

Carpet binding is a term used for any material being applied to the edge of a carpet to make a rug.

Carpet binding is usually cotton or nylon but also comes in many other materials such as leather.

Non-synthetic binding is frequently used with bamboo,

Grass,

And wool rugs but is often used with carpet made from other materials.

The Good Weave Labeling Scheme used throughout Europe and North America assures that child labor has not been used.

Importers pay for the labels and the revenue collected is used to monitor centers of production and educate previously exploited children.

Disposal For the year 2018 in the U.

S.

The recycling of carpet fiber,

Backing,

And padding was 310,

000 tons which was 9.

2% of carpet generation.

A slightly larger portion was combusted for energy recovery while the majority of rugs and carpets were landfilled.

Reviews

Carpet or Rug 🤷🏻‍♀️don’t care but damn good sleep 😴!!! Thanks Ben!

This was frustrating because I wanted it to work & thought it would bore me to sleep but instead I tuned in. So 5 Stars for the voice & content but onto the next one to try. Thank you!

Hello,thanks for uploading this, always a big help and can you please do a podcast on musical instruments talking about when they were invented and how they work! If so, I would very appreciate it! Thanks! 😊 😃 😀 😄 😁 🤣 😊

Amazing, only problem is sometimes your topic are just so interesting I don't fall asleep, also can you do and lgbtq+ one?

These readings help me fall asleep faster than any yoga nidra or sleep meditation.

As always, amazing ! Thank you Ben!

This new one (from my already favorite series) is fantastic!

This is definitely one of the most boring articles to listen to ever! It turned a sleepless night into a snooze fest in record time. I am grateful to have found such a talented bore, thank you kindly.

Boring and your voice is so soothing, I just drift off! Thank you Ben! 🤗

So good. I did not hear the end of the report on carpet! Hee hee