Are all hand-knotted Indian rugs one-of-a-kind?
The answer is no. In the past, all hand-made oriental rugs produced in India and the other rug-making countries were “one-of-a-kind.” These costly creations are still woven in India today; however, thanks to a revolutionary development that began in the 1970s, the craftsmanship, artistry, and enduring quality of Indian rugs became available to a much broader market. The development, known as “programming,” resulted in the production of multiple rugs of the same design in a range of the most desired sizes and in a choice of designer-influenced color combinations. It also offered the option of producing a rug to meet specific size, design and/or color requirements of the purchaser. The new approach did not change the way Indian rugs are produced. Programmed rugs are still made from the finest natural yarns, and they require just as many hours of painstaking attention and the same careful finishing steps as their “one-of-a-kind” counterparts.
