How to Read a Rug Listing: Handmade, Hand-Woven, Wool Blend and Viscose
Buying · 23 October 2026 · 6 min · Published by Raheem & Son for RS Living
Read a rug listing for four facts: the material with its share, the construction, the exact size with its tolerance, and the production or delivery time. Handmade, hand-woven and wool blend are families, not specifications. If a listing stops there, ask before you buy.
Handmade and hand-woven: families, not methods
Both words say a person made the rug, not how. Hand-woven is the broadest term: any rug made by a person working a loom, which takes in flatweaves, hand-knotted and handloom rugs. Handmade is wider still and can include hand-tufted rugs, made with a hand-held tool. Neither word means much without the construction after it.
The Raheem & Son journal sets out how the terms relate in handloom vs handwoven vs hand-knotted rugs.
Hand-knotted, hand-tufted and handloom
These name the method, so they tell you most. Hand-knotted means each knot of pile is tied by hand on the loom; hand-tufted means yarn is punched through a canvas with a hand-held gun, then backed; handloom means woven on a hand-operated loom, and the way the pile is formed varies by workshop, so ask. A hand-knotted listing should also give the knot density.
See how to tell if a rug is hand-knotted and our glossary.
Wool, wool blend, wool and silk, viscose
"Wool" or "100% wool" is a specific statement. "Wool blend" is not: ask what the wool is blended with and in what share. Viscose, including the kind sold as bamboo silk, is a regenerated cellulose fibre with a high sheen; the Raheem & Son journal notes it is weaker, particularly when wet, and tends to crush.
On RS LIVING, "wool and silk blend" means a wool-dominant mix used on the rugs that look shiny, and a rug whose fibre is still being confirmed says nothing rather than guessing. Read wool vs viscose and silk-blend rugs.
What a good listing states
Six things: the material and its share, the construction, the size and its tolerance, knot density for a hand-knotted rug, the production or delivery time, and what happens if something is wrong. The table shows each field next to what an RS LIVING rug page gives, so you have an example to compare against.
| Field | What to look for | On an RS LIVING rug page |
|---|---|---|
| Material | A named fibre, with percentages for any blend | For example imported high-end wool or 100% natural jute; left blank while a fibre is being confirmed |
| Construction | Hand-knotted, hand-tufted, handloom, flatweave: not just handmade | Named on every rug page |
| Size | Exact dimensions and the tolerance | Nine standard sizes, 2 x 3 ft to 12 x 15 ft, or custom on 217 of 217 designs; finished within about one to two per cent |
| Knot density | Knots per square inch, for hand-knotted rugs | 100 or 80 knots per square inch, or lower knot density, where we state it |
| Time | Production or delivery time, and whether it is an estimate | An estimate, about 50 days to about 90 days for pile rugs |
| Faults and returns | What happens if the rug arrives faulty | A 3-day rug fault service on top of your statutory rights |
How to check a listing
Ask three questions. Where was it woven, and by whom? Can you see a photograph of the back? Can you have a sample of the actual yarn? A seller who knows the rug can answer all three. Then compare like with like: price for the same size within one construction and fibre.
Our rug sizes and prices page shows the prices to compare, and what a sample tells you explains what to look for in a sample.
Sources
Raheem & Son journal: handloom vs handwoven vs hand-knotted rugs, wool vs viscose and silk-blend rugs and hand-knotted vs tufted vs woven. RS LIVING: glossary, materials guide, rug size guide and faults and your rights. Counts and production times are computed from the RS LIVING catalogue.
Questions
What does hand-woven mean on a rug listing?
That a person made the rug on a loom. It is a family term covering flatweave, hand-knotted and handloom rugs, so look for the construction as well.
Is a handmade rug the same as a hand-knotted rug?
No. Handmade can include hand-tufted rugs made with a hand-held tool. Hand-knotted means each knot of pile is tied by hand on the loom.
What does wool blend mean?
That the rug is not all wool. Ask what the wool is blended with and in what share; without that, the label tells you little.
Is viscose a natural fibre?
Viscose, including the kind sold as bamboo silk, is a regenerated cellulose fibre with a high sheen. It is weaker, particularly when wet, and tends to crush.
