Rug materials: wool, silk, cotton and jute

Wool

Most handmade pile rugs are wool, and for good reason. The fibers are springy, so the pile recovers after it is walked on. Wool also holds dye well, and its natural lanolin helps it shed dry dirt.

Good rug wool is soft, with a slight natural shine.

Wool rugs shed loose fibers when they are new. That slows down with regular vacuuming.

Silk

Silk is a very fine, strong fiber with a natural sheen. It lets weavers tie very small knots, so silk rugs can show detail that wool cannot. Many wool rugs also use silk for highlights in the design.

Silk is delicate underfoot and does not like water. Spills can leave marks and the colors may run, so silk rugs belong in quiet rooms and need a cleaner who works with silk.

Rugs sold as "art silk", "bamboo silk" or "banana silk" are usually viscose, a fiber made from wood pulp. It looks shiny when new but flattens and stains easily, and it is hard to clean.

Cotton

Cotton is strong and stretches little, so most rug foundations use it for the warp and weft. It helps a rug lie flat and keep its shape.

Many flatwoven rugs, such as dhurries, are all cotton. They are light, easy to move and often washable, but they show dirt sooner and wear faster than wool pile.

Jute and other plant fibers

Jute, sisal and seagrass make natural-looking flatwoven and braided rugs. Jute is the softest of the three but still coarse underfoot.

Jute absorbs water and swells, and wet jute can turn brown. Keep it out of bathrooms, damp basements and entryways, and clean it dry: vacuum, blot spills at once, and avoid steam or soaking.

Blends and synthetics

Many rugs mix fibers, such as wool with silk accents or wool with a cotton foundation. Machine-made rugs often use polypropylene, nylon or polyester. These resist stains and cost less, but they do not age the way wool does.

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