How Many Knots in a Hand-Knotted Rug? Knot Counts for Every Standard Size

A square foot is 144 square inches, so a hand-knotted rug at 100 knots per square inch (KPSI) holds 14,400 knots in every square foot, and one at 80 KPSI holds 11,520. Multiply by the rug's area: a 9 x 12 ft rug, 108 square feet, holds 1,555,200 knots at 100 KPSI and 1,244,160 at 80. Every knot is tied by hand.

The densities used here are the two our hand-knotted range states: 100 and 80 knots per square inch, with a third group described only as lower knot density (RS LIVING glossary). The counts are arithmetic, not measurements of any one rug, and they assume the stated density holds across the whole field.

The table multiplies each size's area by the knots per square foot. Sizes are the nine standard sizes used across our range, in feet. A custom size follows the same rule: width times length in feet, times the knots per square foot.

Density measures how fine the detail can be, not how good the rug is. It says nothing about the wool, which decides how the pile wears and how the colour takes; nothing about the dyeing, which decides whether colour is even and fast; and nothing about washing, shearing and finishing, which decide how the rug feels and lies. A well-made rug at 80 KPSI can outwear a poorly made one at a higher count.

Density also does not set the price on its own. Design complexity, colour count, size, material and finish all move the cost. Read how to read knot density and knot density and quality grading before using a knot count to compare two quotes.

Turn the rug over, lay a ruler along the warp and count the knots in one inch, then count along the weft for one inch. Multiply the two numbers for knots per square inch. Count in several places, because density can vary across a handmade rug, and count on the back, where each knot shows as a small bump.

Ask any supplier to state the density in writing on the proforma invoice, and check a sample before the order. See hand-knotted vs tufted vs woven for how other constructions are made, since only hand-knotted rugs are described by knot density.

In the RS LIVING catalogue, 23 hand-knotted designs are stated at 100 knots per square inch, 13 at 80, and 27 are described as lower knot density. 12 hand-knotted designs, the Oushak group, carry no density claim at all, so we give no knot count for them. These numbers are counted from the live catalogue each time this page is built. Browse them at hand-knotted rugs.