Behind the Design | The Rug Edit

Our natural handwoven rugs offer a multitude of benefits that make them an excellent choice for enhancing your living spaces. Jute and other natural fibres possess an earthy charm and help to create character and a layer of interest, which can be especially beneficial in rooms with hard floors. They also have a timeless quality, with their neutral tones easy to place in most interior styles while adding woven texture and authenticity to a space. Made with care, our jute rugs are known for their durability, capable of withstanding high traffic areas while retaining their shape and texture for many years. They are also handcrafted with sustainable jute that has been processed without the use of chemicals so they are a healthy choice for you and your family. With careful selection, you can find the right rug for your space to provide practical purpose, timeless style and the warmth of woven texture.The Dharma Door rug collection features a variety of weaving designs that are handcrafted with different techniques and natural fibres that are unique to the artisans’ communities. Different to other rugs, there’s also a heartwarming story of women’s empowerment behind every twist, braid and weave in our collection. That’s because each piece is sourced through genuine Fair Trade partnerships which ensure fair payment, safe working conditions and so much more for the talented women who handcraft our rugs. 

In this journal article, we explore the texture variations and the craftswomanship behind our rug collection to help you choose the best weave for your space.

TWISTED, WOVEN & KNOTTED

Our Dari Rugs are woven using an intricate twist, weave and knot technique to create a simple and highly textural woven pattern that is strong, chunky and aesthetically beautiful. To begin, artisans make long lengths of thick jute cord by tying natural, locally-sourced strands of jute around posts on their verandahs and tightly hand twisting it. Moving to the ground, they lay a protective cover down before they start weaving and knotting the cord to create a rectangle or circular shaped rug. For larger rugs, two or three artisans work together, holding and supporting the weight of the heavy cord while one person weaves.

BRAIDED & HAND-STITCHED JUTE

A timeless classic, our braided jute weave collection is appreciated because the natural blonde tone is easy to layer into any interior. To create this collection, jute is sorted, brushed and hand braided into long lengths by our artisan partners in remote village communities of Bangladesh. The braids are then carefully hand stitched row-by-row with a needle and thick cotton thread to ensure they hold their shape and last for many years. For patterned pieces in this collection such as the Amada, Bhola, Kasba and Sunda jute rugs, the artisans use a wooden frame to weave and stitch each shape before hand-stitching the pieces together to form the whole rug. During the process of making, our skilled artisan partners meticulously measure as they go to maintain the correct shape and size until the final rug design is created. You will also find this technique in our Badami and Amada Mats and Shahi Round Rugs.

WOODEN LOOM WEAVE

Artisans in a traditional weaving community weave our Lahari Floor Runners on wooden looms. They practice their craft in small buildings that are set up as shared weaving spaces or on the verandahs of their homes. For this design, the women first braid long strands of blonde jute, and then weave the plaits together with coloured cotton thread on wooden looms row by row, before stitching the ends using a needle and thread. This resulting textile has a lovely subtle vertical line due to the way it’s been woven and the blanket stitching at each end of the Lahari Floor Runners adds an extra element of handmade finishing.

DHARMA DOOR RUG REFERENCE GUIDE

One of the most commonly asked questions we receive about our jute rugs is what the difference is between the various weaves. We understand that it can be daunting purchasing a large investment piece online, so we’ve broken down the key details of each rug design in the reference guide below to make choosing one a little easier.