Large Striped Rug: Bands and Lines in Hand-Knotted Wool

In a flat-woven rug the stripe is made by the weft and runs dead straight from edge to edge. In a knotted rug every row is tied by hand, and the line is drawn as the rug grows. It thickens a little here, drifts a finger's width there, and sometimes stops short of the border.

That slight wander is what keeps a large striped rug from looking like a pedestrian crossing. In a deep Beni Mrirt pile the line also sinks into the surface and gathers shadow. Some bands are not a different colour at all. They are knotted a little lower than the field, so the stripe is made of relief and light.

A stripe in a second colour, cream on charcoal, charcoal on cream, cream across caramel or forest green, makes the rug the graphic element of the room. It suits plain furniture and pale walls, and it reads from the doorway.

Tone-on-tone banding is for those who want a calm rug with a little order in it. From across the room it looks almost plain. Closer, or in low evening light, the ribs appear. It is the safer choice under a patterned sofa or in a room that already has strong lines in its architecture.

In a living room, run the stripes parallel to the sofa. They then pass under the coffee table as one continuous line and tie the seating together. Stripes running towards the sofa tend to look like arrows pointing at it.

Under a dining table, lay the bands along the length of the table so they follow the rows of chairs; crumbs disappear between them. In a room that is too long, turn the rug so the stripes cross the long dimension. Before deciding, lay a few strips of painter's tape on the floor in each direction and look from the door.

Twenty-one rugs, all Beni Mrirt, dense and heavy. Ten carry stripes, bands or lines in a second colour: cream bands on charcoal and on caramel, charcoal lines and borders on cream and beige, paired cream stripes on sage, scattered cream lines on forest green, a cream grid on deep teal. Eleven are tone on tone, mostly in sand, taupe and cream, with a ribbed indigo, a charcoal and one in shades of green and teal among them.

Eight measure around 8 ft 2 in to 8 ft 10 in wide and 10 ft to 12 ft 4 in long. Twelve are around 10 × 13 ft, and the largest is 11 ft 11 in × 15 ft 4 in. The measured dimensions are given on every listing. Delivery is free worldwide, duties and taxes included.