Provenance
The Craft
Bhadohi has woven carpets for the world since the nineteenth century. This page is about what actually happens between raw wool and a finished rug, the people, the process and the time it takes.
The place
A fifty-kilometre radius that carries a century of skill.
The Bhadohi belt of Uttar Pradesh is the largest hand-knotted carpet cluster in India, protected by a Geographical Indication since 2010. Weaving here is not a factory trade; it is a household lineage, passed between generations at the loom. We work with weaving families across this radius, the same families, order after order, year after year.
- 2010
- Bhadohi hand-knotted carpet receives GI protection
The people
One rug is one team's work from first knot to last.
A 9 × 12 ft hand-knotted rug at 150 knots per square inch holds around 2.3 million knots, each tied by hand. We do not split rugs across looms to compress schedules, pace belongs to the weaver, and consistency belongs to the rug. Our weaving partners are paid on delivered quality, on time, every cycle.
- 2.3M
- knots in a 9 × 12 ft rug at 150 KPSI
The material
Wool that is chosen before it is spun.
We buy long-staple wool selected for hand-spinning, blended where a design calls for it with silk, jute or plant-based viscose. Dyeing is done in small lots against physical colour standards; the dye recipe for every order is recorded and kept, which is why a replacement piece ordered five years later still matches.
- 5 yrs+
- dye records kept for every order
The process
From raw wool to a finished rug, and how long each stage really takes.
01
Wool selection & spinning
1–2 weeks
Fleece is sorted, carded and hand- or mill-spun to the count the construction demands.
02
Dyeing
1 week
Small-lot dyeing against approved colour standards, recorded for future rematching.
03
Loom preparation
3–5 days
The warp is stretched and the design map, the naksha, is set for the weavers.
04
Weaving
6–12 weeks
Knotting or tufting, row by row. The single longest stage, and the one that cannot be hurried.
05
Washing & finishing
1–2 weeks
Washing opens the pile and settles the colour; clipping, stretching and binding complete the piece.
06
Inspection & dispatch
3–5 days
Measured, checked against artwork, photographed, rolled and shipped.
Standards
Named certifications, not vague assurances.
GI Bhadohi
Our rugs are woven in the Bhadohi cluster, protected by a Geographical Indication since 2010