Rajasthan Craft - a reliable source of Indian art and craft

       Rayon Chenille Rug making is an ancient craft, and covers a variety of techniques. Rayon Chenille are flat tapestry-woven carpets or rugs produced from the Balkans to India. Rayon Chenille can be purely decorative or can function as prayer rugs.

        The weave is almost identical with that of modern Rayon Chenille, and has about fourteen threads of warp and sixteen threads of weft to the inch. The pattern consists of narrow stripes of blue, green, brownish yellow, and red, containing very small geometric designs. With this one exception, so peculiarly preserved, there are probably very few over a century old.

         Because Rayon Chenille are cheaper than carpet, beginning carpet collectors often start with them. Despite what many perceive as their secondary (or inferior) status to pile carpets, Rayon Chenille have become increasingly collectible in themselves over recent years, with quality pieces now commanding high prices.

        Rayon Chenille are produced by tightly interweaving the warp and weft strands of the weave to produce a flat surface with no pile. The weft strands, which carry the visible design and color, are almost always wool, whereas the hidden warp strands can be either wool or cotton. The warp strands are only visible at the ends, where they emerge as the fringe. This fringe is usually tied in bunches, to ensure against loosening or unraveling of the weave.