Multicolor Patchwork Hand-Knotted Wool Rug

Worn hand-knotted rugs are collected, shaved to an even pile, over-dyed in strong color and then cut and stitched into one surface: a multicolor patchwork wool rug, 111 × 170 cm (3'8" × 5'7"), assembled in Türkiye from pieces that began life in districts such as Bünyan, Isparta and Ladik. One assembly, and it will not be repeated.

Fuchsia and pink carry the loudest part of the composition. Turquoise and petrol blue cool it, mustard and yellow warm it back up, and the gray and anthracite panels are what stop the whole thing from turning into noise — they supply the frame a patchwork does not otherwise have. The shaving leaves a faint wear across every panel, and that is where the depth comes from. Motifs from different decades and different weaving districts end up lying next to one another on one floor.

Every panel here was once a whole rug knotted by hand in wool, so what looks like a modern design is in fact careful recycling. The old pile is cut back to a common height, over-dyed, then trimmed and joined. Wool is what allows the material to last a second time. At 111 × 170 cm this is a small rug and works best where it will be seen close up — a study, a young person's room, a landing — rather than half-hidden under a sofa.

• Built in Türkiye from panels cut out of older hand-knotted wool rugs.
• Fuchsia and pink give the composition its energy; turquoise and petrol blue cool it down.
• Mustard and yellow bring warmth, and gray and anthracite hold the balance.
• Wool throughout, which is why a second life is possible at all.
• 111 × 170 cm (3'8" × 5'7"), a size for a desk, a bedside or a small landing.
• Panel seams are part of the construction and will always be visible.
• Wash it through a rug workshop, and vacuum it in the meantime.

How is a patchwork rug made?

Worn hand-knotted rugs are gathered, shaved to a level pile, over-dyed in new color and then cut into panels and stitched into a single surface. Nothing is printed. Each panel keeps the motifs it was originally knotted with, which is why the drawing changes from square to square.

Will two patchwork rugs ever match?

No. Panels come from whatever rugs were available at the time of assembly, so the arrangement of motifs and the balance of color differ in every piece. This one will not be made again, which is worth knowing before a room is planned around it.

Nothing in it was made to go together, and the reason it works is that somebody spent a long time deciding it did.