CLEANING, REPAIR AND RESTORATION

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IT MAKES GOOD SENSE TO HAVE YOUR RUGS REGULARLY INSPECTED TO ENSURE YOU ENJOY THE ORIGINAL COLOURS AND FOR LONGEVITY. CAREFUL USE AND NOT ABUSE IS THE SECRET. MORE THAN 80% OF RUGS RECEIVED IN MY WORKSHOP NEED SIMPLE REPAIR OR FIRST AID RATHER THAN MAJOR RESTORATION. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION REFER TO THE "SERVICES" LINK.

Materials, tools, skill and patience are vital for quality repair and restoration. The restorer must be able to copy the style of the original weaver and use the Persian, Turkish, Nepalese, Berber and Spanish knots, as well as Soumakh and other flat weave techniques.

I have hundreds of shades of wool and from them can blend virtually any colour. In addition, I have goat, camel, yak and horse hair as well as dozens of cottons and twines, cowrie shells and tassels.

If you live locally or come to southern Spain you are most welcome to contact me and arrange to watch restoration taking place.

The three primary colours which lead to thousands of blended shades.

Scissors, tweezers, pliers, a dental probe, scalpel, and traditional Persian hooks are all in daily use.

More brushes than your hairdresser, weights to keep the repair piece steady, a little practice loom, some beeswax, scissor sharpener, my grandmother's rolling pin, pin cushions and naturally a set of glass lucky beads.

A selection of knotting hooks and wool trimmers from Persia and Afghanistan, together with beating combs from Turkey, Spain, Morocco and Persia.

Justified restoration. This magnificent antique Hamadan runner had one area of damage but was otherwise in excellent condition.

The piece was pinned to a frame and several hundred warp threads inserted invisibly from the back. The damaged area was then re-knotted in colours to match the original.

Finished. The reconstructed area as seen from the back .

This old Heriz carpet was severely attacked by moth. After being washed and sterilised the damaged areas, of which this is one, had the damaged pile removed. It was then re-knotted with the same colours and style of knot.

As seen from the back the damaged area has been restored invisibly.

This is an old Turkish carpet from Konya which has one major hole and 10 smaller ones. It has been washed to reveal the true colours and the large hole is now ready for cleaning out prior to reconstruction. Fortunately the damaged design is repeated elsewhere in the carpet so, instead of drawing the area to be re-knotted first on graph paper, digital photography provides an instant design to copy.

As explained on the left.

This was a challenge ! This antique chair had been inset by 10 panels of antique Portuguese needlepoint strips. Most were as badly damaged as the one on the bottom right. Completely new identical panels had to be stitched and inserted and 9 are in place.

This huge Indian carpet was ripped by metal hooks in transit. The sequence shows the damaged area being cleaned out, The design of the area for reconstruction drawn on graph paper and, almost finished, the area re-knotted with wools from our own wool bank prior to the final cut.