Dhurries

The Dhurries is a flat woven cotton rug. These inexpensive textiles are made on primitive ground looms and have been used over centuries in homes throughout India. They vary in size and grandeur from the gargantuan palace – commissioned dhurries to small bed and prayer dhurries.The dhurrie can be used as an underlay to protect valuable carpets or by themselves as decorative floor covering.

Dhurries are ‘weft faced’ that is the weft threads from the most visible part of the surface –and their patterning technique involves slit work, dove tailing, double interlocking, eccentric wefts and weft float patterning. Compositions vary enormously but most mimic floral and geometric combination of Persian carpets.

In the villages of Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan,dhurrie weaving continues to be a family craft. They are woven on simple ground looms. While patterns and colors are evolving due to increased export markets the tools and techniques have altered little over centuries.