Modern Stripy Gabbeh rug

Add some contemporary flair to your home with this modern stripy Gabbeh rug. It's a handy size, measuring 148x101cm or 4'10x3'4. 

This colourful stripy Gabbeh rug is a statement in itself. It boasts a riot of colours, stripes or lines woven in an abstract manner. The colours include red, blue, ochre, orange and beige just to name a few. 

Find out some more about this Modern Stripy Gabbeh rug

This eye-catching modern rug was handmade in Afghanistan. It was woven by a Turkmen weaver in the vicinity of Aqcha, in the north of the country. The extensive finishing processes are undertaken in Pakistan, where the rug undergoes extensive washing, singeing (to burn off excess fluff), trimming, securing, and aligning procedures.  

Afghan Gabbeh rugs take their design influence from Persian Gabbeh rugs. The Gabbeh rugs of Persia were originally made by and used in the day-to-day lives of the nomads from tribes such as the Qashqa'i and the Lori. These thick piled tribal weavings became well known and admired. 

The Afghan Gabbeh rugs have evolved in their own unique way. These handmade modern rugs are not as thickly piled as their Persian counterparts, yet the knotting is often finer. The Afghan weavers produce all sorts of designs from plain Gabbeh rugs to stripy Gabbeh rugs. 

Discover what this rug is made from

This small statement piece rug is made from wool and cotton. 

The woollen part of this rug is the pile. This is Afghan wool, which has a great reputation for it's quality and durability. 

The cotton part of the rug is the core foundation threads. This are called the warp threads. They are the first yarns mounted onto the loom before the weaving begins. 

Did you know that all handmade rugs have warp threads? These are the integral part of a handmade rug because the knots are tied onto them. This is also why even modern handmade rugs often have fringes, because the fringes are each end of the warp threads. 

How this modern 5x3 rug was made

This modern stripy Gabbeh rug was handmade on a loom. Utilising ancient techniques that have been honed over generations, this Afghan rug was hand-knotted. 

It is hand-knotting that creates the piled surface on a handmade rug. Each and every tuft of pile is formed by a knot tied onto pairs of warp threads. This is a protracted process without short-cuts of machines or glues. A proper handicraft. 

The knots are knotted in rows spanning the width of the loom. Each row is followed by a number of threads called wefts which are woven between the warps. All of the different coloured knots combine to make the colours and pattern of the finished rug. 

Such is the nature of a handmade rug like this, the weaver's creation is a one-of-a-kind rug. How special is that?

Advice on using 5x3 Modern Afghan rug in your home

The size of this Afghan Gabbeh rug makes it a useful addition to any home. It is one of those sizes that can be used almost anywhere. Such is the nature of it's hard wearing natural fibres and it's robust construction, you are not limited as to where you can lay it.

It'll sit happily in front of the fireplace - in prime position to be admired; it is tough enough to use in a hallway; and the size is perfect to use beside a bed as a bedside rug. 

You can help keep it nicely in place by popping an anti-slip rug underlay beneath it. 

Key details: 

• Country of origin: Afghanistan / Pakistan
• Size: 148×101cm / 4’10″x3’4″ 
• Thickness: 10mm
• Pile: Wool, hand-knotted
• Warp: Cotton
• Age: New