The Home Stretch?
Stretching! We do this to help relax our tired and tight muscles but the same thing happens for rugs as well. In this step, the rug was stretched out to its maximal size, and straightened out on all four sides. Unlike machine made rugs, often produced with manmade materials, the natural materials sometimes shrink and want to revert back to their original state. Also, since they are done completely by hand, tension occurs from side to side due to the single weft. This leads to the misshapen form. As discussed in “Hills Are Alive’ blog post, this weft method is very durable using two layers of cotton or wool thread. These threads go in between each woven row, making a U-turn instead of being cut at every row, to secure it in place. For this reason, the rug must be stretched out, and lay flat for several days. Once this has taken place, the final review can occur. On my visit to observe this stretching process, a dozen rugs had already been stretched, leaving room for only one more - mine!
Excess warps cut before the stretching process begins
The rug is carefully measured in length, width and diagonally. Since these rugs use natural fibers and are woven by hand, some rugs require only a tad bit of stretching time and others require significantly more. The intended size is compared to the current size, and plotted out on the wooden surface where stretching takes place. The four corners are put in place with nails, and a string is wrapped around the nails to create the straight lines of the new perimeter.
Then nails are placed in each corner.
Next, using both a single head carpet stretcher and a bit of manpower, the rug is stretched. It is placed in the center and stretched diagonally from one corner to the opposite. What cannot be done with brute strength is tackled by machine. The metal toothed end of the carpet stretcher is put into place, and a set of extenders is attached to meet a wall. The wall serves as a fulcrum to ensure stability. A lever is pressed down and the rug is stretched to meet the perimeter string. The rug is secured into place, and the process continues until all sides are aligned. The rug will lay in place for several days and up to two weeks, to ensure the even stretch. My bespoke rug would not take the longest time to stretch. The stretching master told me so. It had not lost much of its shape up to this point so it only needed a gentle stretch. He compared my rug to another that lay nearby. It would require much more stretching attention because there was a slight notch like dent along one edge. This would require a deeper stretch, little by little. I like to compare this sort of “deep stretch” to yoga. There are poses like the butterfly, where you press your feet together and push your knees to the floor. If your legs are too tight (not relaxed) it is almost impossible to even fathom the pose happening. However, with dedication and focused stretching, it happens, eventually!
Stretching done. Now wait patiently.
After observing the stretching process, I used the downtime to climb a small mountain. Not an actual mountain of rock and soil, but one made entirely of yarn.
As I mentioned in the “Hills are Alive” blog post, I wanted to be able to loom a rug of my own. The first step in making this a reality was selecting a color combination that would suit the “mamluk design” I had chosen. I thought it would be easy to find the natural dyed yarns I desired, but I was overwhelmed by the options available to me. I stood in the midst of all these beautiful colors and just could not decide on my own. It was similar to the “I have a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear” feeling when deciding on an outfit for a special occasion. I had already chosen a color palette, but once in front of a massive selection, I was tempted to change my mind. The in-house dye master saw I was in a color crisis and stepped in to help me out in a matter of moments. I was now prepared for my Masterclass in Diyarbakir and ready to depart. I will be back as my journey is really only just beginning.