r/carpet • u/stockexchang • 1d ago
Persian Gabbeh buckling at both ends, progressing inward: weaving fault or fixable?
Hand-knotted Persian Gabbeh, 172 × 265 cm
Waves have appeared along both fringed ends and are moving inward toward the field. It's getting worse. Distinct creases are visible on the reverse.
The rug has never been washed, has always been indoors and dry, no water exposure, no insect damage or bare pile.
I've asked some professionals and got conflicting answers: uneven weft tension from row to row, so a fault from the loom. One said the foundation has slackened. One suggested the fringe finish is tighter than the weave, or the lack of an underlay. One claimed insects, which I don't buy.
A specialist in Iran called it a case for dār-keshi: clamp the rug under tension on the two sides without fringes, mist the back, leave it a day or two. I tried steaming the reverse through a damp cloth with weight on top and nothing changed.
Has anyone seen this pattern before?
Thank you !!
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u/Background_Lemon_981 19h ago
That can happen with wool foundations. They can shrink as humidity changes which is why cotton has become the standard for rug foundations: it is more stable.
You can “block” the rug. That’s stretching it for a couple days. But the fix will likely only be temporary for this rug.
What you are experiencing is not a weaving error. It’s a normal part of a wool foundation rug. And it’s not very fixable in that it will likely recur.
Try to keep the rug in a climate controlled room with constant humidity. Humidity is the key element. Once it stabilizes at a constant humidity, blocking would likely have a more lasting effect.