What is the Uneven Coloration in My Area Rug? – Sedona AZ
You may have noticed that some of your rugs have variations in the colors throughout them. Perhaps you’ve wondered why there are two (or more) colors of blue in your rug when it should just be one blue and why it looks uneven! The technical term for this is abrash and the dictionary defines it like this:
abrash : a·brash (ä-bräsh′, ə-bräzh′) n.: The natural and variable change in color that occurs in an Oriental rug over time when different dies are used.
[Arabic, mottled, possibly of Persian origin.]
This photo shows just one section of a rug that has quite a bit of abrash throughout it. This rug has a pretty obvious variation but sometimes it is a much more subtle change in colors and a client will pick up their cleaned rug and comment on how they never noticed the variation in colors before. Sometimes it’s a matter of the client never having paid much attention to the little details in their rug until it’s been cleaned.
Other times, it could be that, when the rug was new, the colors were more even. Over time, however, the dyes fade differently (dyes oxidize) and soil accumulation can mask these changes as they happen. This soil gets removed with the cleaning, of course, and also uncovers a color variation that’s much more noticeable.
Abrash happens most often in Village and Tribal rugs because these rugs are made from small batches of dyed wool. The environment is also not as controlled as it would be in a large rug manufacturing plant. If a weaver making a Village or Tribal rug runs out of one batch of wool, he/she will simply grab another batch of wool with little thought about a different dye lot changing the color.
Did you know abrash is greatly sought after?
It only adds to the one of a kind look that hand-made rugs offer. In fact, abrash is so popular that it isn’t uncommon for machine-made rugs to try and duplicate this look by purposely adding color variations.
Enjoy all the unique variations your rugs offer! That’s what makes them one-of-a-kind and so loved by people around the world! Ruthie here at Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care in Prescott, AZ and I hope you enjoyed this bit of information & have found yet another reason to love your rug!
Till next time, enjoy your beautiful art for your floor and remember a clean rug is a rug that can last you a lifetime!
Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care serves Prescott, Prescott Valley, Sedona and much of the Northern Arizona areas. We meet the highest standards in professional cleaning of area rugs with rug wash specialists having earned the highest training, including certification as WOOLSAFE FIBRE CARE SPECIALISTS through the WOOLSAFE ORGANISATION. Such extraordinary certification ensures the area rugs of our client’s receive the utmost in care.
Call us for additional information on Abrash 928-445-1718, visit our website at www.ArizonaOriental.com, or stop by Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at our rug washing facility at 565 EZ Street, Prescott, AZ 86301 (pick-up and delivery also available). (03-08-17)
