Job completed for Mechanicville Antique Rug Cleaning and Repair Customer

Completion date: September 2, 2025

Location: Mechanicville, NY

Why did the customer contact us?

This is an example of a hand woven Turkish kilim rug. Turkish kilims are valuable due to their inability to be produced abroad in places such as Turkey, Iran, and the Caucasian mountains. It is over a century old. A rug of this quality comes from the finest weavers but the rug had enormous wear and cuts in the fringe and borders of the rug and was destroyed in numerous areas.

The rug was completely destroyed in the following areas:

-Fringe was torn and ripped

-Binding was unraveling as this a mid-century rug

Solutions provided:

This type of museum quality work can only be performed by hand and Jafri Rug's weavers are skilled artisans who understand the woven characteristics of the rug and can reweave into the wool without making the rug look new. The time to restore this rug took approx 6 months.

Jafri Rug restoration repaired this rug by doing the following:

Pre-Repair Cleaning

• A deep
  cleaning is performed before repairs to remove dirt, oils, and debris
  that interfere with repair work.


• Includes:




• Dusting where the dust fibers are vacuumed from the rug for hours
  (front and back)


• Gentle
  hand washing with pH-neutral detergents including olive oil shampoo


• Rinsing
  and drying in a temperature-controlled environment

Structural Repairs

These are the most critical to maintain rug integrity:

a. Edge Repair (Overcasting or Binding)

• Rebinding fraying edges to prevent unraveling into the field of the rug.


• Matching wool or cotton thread to blend into the rug.


• Restores tension and keeps the weft and warp from separating.

b. Fringe Repair or Replacement

• Stabilizes or reconstructs the fringe (often the warp threads).


• May involve:




• Tying off loose fringe


• Sewing in new fringe sections


• Weaving new fringes into the foundation

c. Hole or Tear Repair

• Small
  holes: patched and reinforced from the back.


• Larger
  holes or tears: require reweaving the foundation (warp and weft), then
  tying new knots to match the original pattern.

4. Pile Reweaving / Pattern Reconstruction

• Rebuilds
  worn or missing areas by hand-knotting new wool or silk into the
  structure.


• Requires:




• Color-matching
  wool (often hand-dyed)


• Matching
  the knot density, knot type (Turkish or Persian), and pattern




• Done
  by experienced weavers to ensure seamless blending with the original
  design.

5. Color Restoration

• In
  areas where colors have faded or bled, restorers may:




• Touch
  up color with textile-safe dyes where there is already wool shown in the
  pile but requires blending of color for consistency in the rug’s colors


• Avoid
  painting, which can damage fibers over time

 6. Shearing &
Grooming

• After
  repairs, the pile is carefully sheared to match surrounding areas.


• Helps
  ensure a consistent pile height and finish.


• Brushing
  aligns the nap and improves visual consistency.

 7. Blocking &
Reshaping

• If the
  rug is warped or misshapen:




• It’s
  dampened and laid flat under weight or pinned.


• Dried
  under tension to restore its original shape and prevent buckling.

8. Final Cleaning & Inspection

• A
  final surface clean removes any dust or fibers from the repair.


• Inspection
  ensures:




• Seamless
  repairs


• Color
  and texture matches


• Edges
  are secure and the rug lies flat