A History of Tufted Rugs

Prototype. Chapter text drafted from the research notes and not yet checked at the archives. Images awaiting permission are marked.

A History of Tufted Rugs

From needle-made pile and candlewick spreads to the broadloom mills of Dalton, the hand-held gun and the robot, told from patents, trade papers, archives and the objects themselves.

By Tim Eads

Contents

2 chapters ready to read, 11 in preparation
  1. Shade 1WheatHow rugs are made: a short history of the processes1483 BCE–2007In preparation
  2. Shade 2OxbloodBefore the machine: needle-made pile in early America1778–2007In preparation
  3. Shade 3NavyWoven carpet and the race to broadloom1615–1968In preparation
  4. Shade 4RoseFrom candlewick spreads to the Bedspread Capital1895–1949Read the chapter
  5. Shade 5OchreBuilding the machine1852–1999In preparation
  6. Shade 6TealNylon and the broadloom boom1937–1977Read the chapter
  7. Shade 7IndigoNobody else invented it: tufting goes abroad1831–2009In preparation
  8. Shade 8PlumChina: palace carpets, export factories and Cuihuangkou1860–2025In preparation
  9. Shade 9RustHand tools and the tufting gun1866–2026In preparation
  10. Shade 10UmberIndia: Bhadohi, Panipat and the hand-tufted takeover1880–2025In preparation
  11. Shade 11JadeToday: industry giants and custom tufting studios1865–2019In preparation
  12. Shade 12SlateProgrammable tufting: from pattern control to CNC and robots1930–2023In preparation
  13. Shade 13MossThe hand tool returns: hobby tufting and poke-poke1886–2024In preparation