Kosker Traditional Rug Repair
ph: 1 212 300 3348
alt: 1 347 713 3950
info
Rug Restoration & Repair
Caring for Rugs and Kilims
We have years of extensive experience in providing the skilled care necessary to preserve thousands of hand knotted rugs and hand woven kilims, including treasured family heirlooms, collectible museum-quality antique rugs, and pieces appreciated for their decorative value in clients' homes.
To repair and restore rugs and kilims is a skill and labor-intensive process, which can include:
- sourcing the right yarns to be used for the repair or restoration
- protecting the surrounding areas around the damage
- rebuilding all damaged or missing warp
- reknotting pile while recreating missing or damaged motifs
- weaving weft to tighten knots or to recreate missing motifs as in the case of kilims
- binding selvages (selvedges) to prevent the edges from fraying
- binding and rebuilding fringes to prevent unraveling
We believe that combining these steps to restore a handmade rug or kilim is an art form in which we take great pride.
We provide a full range of superior kilim and rug repair and restoration services, including those necessary to address the following common problems faced by rug and kilim owners:
- worn fringes
- holes and/or torn areas
- moth damage
- pile wear
- kilim unraveling
- selvage (selvedge) wear
We are committed to providing our clients with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about how to care for and preserve their rugs and kilims for years to come. As such, we provide free inspections of all clients' rugs and kilims in need of repair or restoration. During these inspections, we provide detailed explanations of the various repair and restoration options available to our clients. In addition, we provide clear and detailed information regarding the price of all repair and restoration options available to our clients.
Please call us at 1 212 300 3348 or email us at info@traditionalrugrepair.com or to learn about scheduling a free inspection of any rugs or kilims you believe may need repair or restoration.
Frequently Asked Questions About Restoration & Repair
The fringes on my rug are coming undone. Is there something I can do?
Absolutely. Fringes can be repaired and bound. It is important to have this repair done as soon as possible. The more fringes unravel, the more difficult and costly the repair will be.
Is there a difference between rug repair and rug restoration?
People often refer to rug repair and restoration interchangeably. Technically, a restoration, however, implies that the work is meant to restore a piece to its original state. A repair is meant to fix a problem, which may or may not mean that it will be restored to its original state. As such, in some instances, a restoration can be the same thing as a repair. However, in some instances, to properly restore a rug will require more than just repairing a specific problem such as fringe unraveling. When we examine your piece, we will tell you the options available to you, repair or restoration, and give you estimates for both.
How much does restoration or repair of a hole cost?
Because each handmade rug and kilim is one-of-a-kind and because each problem will be unique, it is impossible to state how much it will cost to address all problem areas. This will depend on the individual circumstances. However, we give free estimates to all of our clients at no obligation upon our inspection of their rugs and kilims.
My rug was eaten by moths. Can it be fixed?
Yes, a rug eaten by moths can be repaired. Before we repair it, however, we will have to professionally clean it to remove any moth larvae still living in the rug.
Do you only repair and clean Persian rugs or Oriental rugs?
No, we provide all kinds of services on handmade rugs and kilims, including cleaning and repairing Navajo rugs; dhurrie kilims; and handhooked rugs.
Examples of Our Restoration & Repair
Kilim Restoration: Turkish Kilim
Torn Area in Turkish Gocmen Kilim
Restored Turkish Gocmen Kilim
The restoration of this Gocmen kilim involved rebuilding parts of the missing and damaged cotton warp and reweaving the missing weft using the traditional slit-weave technique. For more information about this restoration, please visit our blog where we tracked our progress from start to finish.
Rug Restoration: Antique Turkish Oushak Carpet
Hole and Worn Areas in Antique Turkish Oushak Carpet
Restored Antique Turkish Oushak Carpet
The restoration of this antique Turkish Oushak rug included reknotting the golden edges of the flower, the central beige area of the flower, as well as the gray areas surrounding the golden flower. In addition, the pink and golden worn areas were reknotted. For more information on this restoration, please visit our blog where we discuss this project in more detail.Kilim Restoration: Antique Caucasian Kilim
Worn Areas in Antique Kilim
Restored Antique Kilim
This restoration of this antique Caucasian kilim involved rebuilding the missing warp of the damaged and worn kilim and reweaving the weft. Restored areas include the blue, ivory, and pink medallion as well as the surrounding brown areas. A significant challenge of restoring antique kilims is finding yarns to use in the restoration that can blend into the existing yarns of the antique kilim.
Rug Repair: Turkish Rug
Hole in Turkish Rug
Reknotted Hole in Turkish Rug
This Turkish rug was damaged when a heavy piece of furniture that had rested on the rug for years was repeatedly dragged on the rug eventually causing a small hole on the rug's border. To repair the Turkish rug, we rebuilt the warp and reknotted the missing and damaged pile. For more information, pictures, and explanations of the development of this rug repair, please visit our blog.
Kilim Restoration: Moroccan Kilim
Damaged Selvage (Selvedge) and Weft in Moroccan Kilim
Rewoven Weft and Restored and Bound Selvage (Selvedge)
This Moroccan kilim's selvage (selvedge) almost completely came undone and allowed the kilim to fray at its edges. To restore this Moroccan kilim, we rewove the damaged weft, repaired, and bound the selvage. For more details about this kilim restoration, please visit our related blog entries here.
Rug Repair: Turkish Rug
Hole in Turkish Rug
Reknotted pile
A section of this Turkish rug was completely missing. The rug repair included recreating the warp and reknotting the pile following the floral motif of the central medallion's pattern. Please visit our blog for more information on this rug repair.
Kilim Repair: Turkish Kilim
Torn Fringes and Edge of Kilim
Bound Kilim Edge
This Turkish kilim was damaged by a client's dogs who chewed the entire edge and most of the fringe off the kilim. The client opted not to restore the kilim at this time, but rather to repair the edge and bind the fringe to prevent further unraveling and allow the client to use the kilim.
Kilim Repair: Caucasian Kilim
Small Hole in Caucasian Kilim
Repaired Caucasian Kilim
Repairing this Caucasian kilim required building the missing warp, and reweaving the missing motifs. Please visit our blog entries to see a detailed step by step illustration of how this repair was done.Kilim Repair: Moroccan Kilim
Fraying and damaged selvage
Repaired selvage and binding
This Moroccan kilim's edges were compromised by a damaged selvage and the weft was beginning to unravel. The kilim restoration included reinforcing the weft and binding the edges in accordance with the striped and different colored motifs. Please visit our blog for more details about this Moroccan kilim restoration.
Rug Repair: Unraveling Edges of Persian Rug
Persian Rug's Edges Unraveling
Repaired Edges of Persian Rug
This Persian rug fell victim to a common threat to quite a few fine rugs - the rambunctious pet. The unraveling edges threatened to compromise the rug's border if neglected. Repair involved reweaving the missing edge (and matching the gradations of color) and reinforcing it to minimize the risk of future unraveling.
Rug Repair: Handhooked Rug Repair
Worn areas of handhooked rug
Repaired handhooked rug
This gorgeous handhooked rug had quite a few worn areas that needed repair. The solid colored motifs against the rich black background really allowed the beautiful abrash (natural variations in the color of the yarns) to shine through. We tried to keep the repair consistent with the original by using yarns that also had similar variations in their color.
Rug Restoration: Reknotting missing pile and recreating missing fringes on a Persian Rug
Persian rug with missing pile and fringes
Persian rug fringes and missing pile after repail
This fine semi-antique wool and cotton Persian rug was missing a section of pile at its border as well as part of its fringes. We recreated new warp in the affected section thereby recreating the missing fringes. We used cotton fibers to be consistent with the original fringes. Subsequently, we reknotted the missing pile taking care to choose yarns to match the original knotting. Lastly, we bound the fringes so as to minimize the risk of any future unraveling.
ph: 1 212 300 3348
alt: 1 347 713 3950
info
