Craft · Soumak
Soumak rugs — supplementary-weft wrapping, 60-knot Tibetan variant
Soumak is a flatweave technique where a supplementary weft wraps around the warp threads instead of passing straight through them. The result sits between a flatweave and a knotted rug — flat enough to lie reversibly, but with a raised, braided-looking surface that catches light and reads as texture rather than paint.
What soumak is, in one sentence
A soumak rug is hand-woven on a vertical loom like a kilim, but every other weft pass is wrapped around pairs of warp threads — forward over two, back under one, forward over two — which builds a diagonal braided surface. Classical Caucasian and Persian soumaks carry heavy weft wraps; our Tibetan variant uses a 60-knot-per-inch counting system more familiar to knotted-rug weavers in Bhadohi.
The Tibetan 60-knot variant we weave
The soumak pieces in our current catalogue (codes FW-023 through FW-034) are woven on cotton warp, wrapping a twisted jute-and-wool weft. The "60-knot Tibetan weave" descriptor on each piece refers to the weave-count convention from Tibetan knotted-rug tradition (60 wraps per inch of weft row) that our weavers in Bhadohi learned from the Tibetan refugee carpet programme that settled in the region in the 1960s. The technique is identical to classical soumak — the counting and finishing come from a different tradition.
Materials and colours
We weave soumak in three fibre specifications:
- Jute and wool (blended weft) — the default. Jute adds heft and a slight natural lustre; wool softens the hand and holds dye crisply. Available in natural-ivory through to indigo, black, brown, charcoal and silver.
- 100% jute — undyed naturals (silver, brown, black, charcoal) and single-colour natural dyes. Heaviest hand, most texture.
- 100% wool — occasionally woven for colour-heavy commissions. Softest, lightest.
Pantone matching uses our standard in-house dye library (2,400 shades) and the Pantone matcher to confirm the nearest reproducible colour before bulk.
Why soumak sits where it does
Soumak answers a specific brief: you want texture and a raised pattern reading, but not the price or heft of a hand-knotted rug, and not the strict flatness of a kilim. The braided diagonal surface shows the weft colour where kilim would show only the weft colour's line. It accepts foot traffic in dry rooms — living rooms, bedrooms, offices — but is not our recommendation for kitchens, bathrooms, or exposed outdoor use.
Specifications
- Construction
- Supplementary-weft wrapping on cotton warp, 60-knot Tibetan count
- Fibres (weft)
- Jute + wool blend (default), 100% jute, 100% wool
- Warp
- Cotton (8/4 ply typical)
- Size tolerance
- ±3% per piece
- Skew tolerance
- ≤1 inch across the diagonal
- GSM range
- 900–1,600 g/m² depending on specification
- MOQ
- 1 piece
- Sampling lead time
- ~15 days from CAD approval
- Bulk lead time
- ~35 days from strike-off approval
- Suitable for
- Dry interior use — living, bedroom, office; dry hospitality corridors
- Not for
- Bathrooms, kitchens, outdoor exposure, high-moisture rooms
Care
Vacuum weekly with suction only (no beater bar — the weft wraps can lift under rotating brushes). Rotate the rug 180° every six months in high-traffic spots. Spot-clean spills immediately with a dry cloth, then a damp cloth with cold water only; never soak. Professional dry-clean or specialist rug wash for stains that won't lift — household carpet shampoo can swell the jute and distort the warp alignment.
Related reading on our floor
- Kilim rugs — the straight-weft flatweave technique soumak shares its loom with
- Flatweave rugs — our full flatweave programme (kilim, panja dhurrie, soumak, braided, outdoor PET)
- Jute as a rug fibre — where our jute comes from and why we use it
- Dye colour library — browse 2,400 in-house codes with Pantone equivalence
Soumak rug FAQ
What is the difference between a soumak rug and a kilim?
A kilim's weft passes straight through the warp so the weft colour shows only as a line in the weave. A soumak's weft wraps around the warp, which builds a raised braided surface with much more visible texture. Both are flatweaves woven on the same vertical loom; the difference is purely in how the weft is passed.
Is soumak reversible like kilim?
Partly. The front shows the braided diagonal clearly; the back shows the weft tails and is rougher. You can use the back face if you want a flatter, more muted look, but most buyers use soumak face-up.
Can soumak go outdoors?
No. Our soumak is woven in jute and wool — both absorb moisture and discolour with sustained wet exposure. For covered outdoor use (terrace, poolside, verandah) choose our Petyarn weatherproof range in the flatweave catalogue instead.
What MOQ and lead time?
1 piece on every construction we weave. Sampling turnaround is about 15 days from CAD approval. Bulk production from strike-off approval is about 35 days.
Can you match a specific colour?
Yes. Send us the Pantone TCX/TPG reference, or a hex value, or a physical swatch. We match against our 2,400-code in-house dye library and confirm with a lab dip before the dye recipe is locked for bulk.
Why do you call it '60-knot Tibetan weave'?
The counting convention — 60 wraps per inch of weft row — comes from the Tibetan knotted-rug tradition brought to the Bhadohi region by the Tibetan refugee carpet programme in the 1960s. The technique itself is classical soumak. Our weavers use the Tibetan count because that's how the tradition was taught locally.