Why the knot matters
The pile of a handmade carpet, the surface you touch, is nothing but the cut ends of knots: small loops of coloured yarn tied by hand around the vertical warp threads, row upon row, locked in place with weft and beaten down tight. How that loop is tied is the deepest technical choice in the whole craft. It decides how secure the pile is, how fine the drawing can become, and even how the carpet wears over decades.
The Gördes knot: symmetry and strength
The Turkish knot, named after the Anatolian town of Gördes, is symmetric: the yarn wraps around two neighbouring warps and both ends come up together between them, forming a firm collar around the pair. Because every knot grips two warps equally, the pile is exceptionally secure and the structure robust. This is the knot of the Anatolian tradition, and it is the technique behind pieces in our archive such as Turkish Silk No. III.
It is often called the double knot, and the name is deserved. Even the finest work uses it without sacrificing security; the silk Hereke carpets are woven with the Gördes knot at densities that reach 36 knots per square centimetre and beyond.
The Persian knot: asymmetry and flow
The Persian knot, also called the Senneh knot, is asymmetric: the yarn wraps fully around one warp and passes openly behind its neighbour. One end emerges beside each warp rather than both together. The knot holds a little less aggressively, but it packs closer, and the free end gives the weaver finer control over where each point of colour sits.
That is why the asymmetric knot became the natural tool of flowing, curvilinear design traditions. The distinction is a matter of technique and geography, not quality, and both knots produce carpets of the first rank.
Side by side
| Gördes (Turkish) knot | Persian (Senneh) knot | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Symmetric, wraps two warps | Asymmetric, wraps one warp |
| Grip | Very secure, firm collar on both warps | Secure, packs more closely |
| Suits | Geometric and formal designs, hard wear | Fine curvilinear and floral drawing |
| Tradition | Anatolia, including Hereke | Persia and related workshops |
| On the back | Each knot reads as one even bump | Slightly offset, finer grain |
What density tells you, and what it does not
Knot density, counted per square centimetre or square inch on the back, measures resolution: how much detail the weaver could draw. Our Hereke guide shows what extreme density makes possible. But density is one voice in a choir. The quality of the wool or silk, the dyes, the drawing, the condition: a carpet is the sum of these, and a coarse, powerful village piece can outlive and outshine a mediocre fine one.
The practical habit to take away is simple, and it is the same one that runs through our guide on identifying handmade rugs: turn the carpet over. The back tells you how it was made, how finely, and with which knot, in less time than any sales pitch takes.
