Persian Rug Repair — Three-Generation Expertise, North Shore Chicago
Persian rug repair by Ghorban Ahmadi — asymmetric-knot reweaving, weft-depression matching, and natural-dye colour work, grounded in three generations of Persian textile expertise and museum conservation training. Done by hand in our Skokie atelier.
Text (847) 440-1349 — estimate within 30 minutes during workshop hours.
A Persian rug is not a generic rug
Persian rugs are built and coloured unlike anything a general repair shop handles daily. Most use the asymmetric (Persian, or senneh) knot, which behaves differently under tension than the symmetric Turkish knot; many city weaves carry weft depression that gives the pile its characteristic ribbed back and has to be reproduced exactly or the repair sits proud of the field. Get the knot or the depression wrong and the patch announces itself.
The colour is harder still. Traditional Persian rugs are dyed with natural dyes — madder reds, indigo blues, weld yellows — that age into abrash, the gentle striated variation that gives an old rug its depth. A flat synthetic match against that living colour is the single most common way a Persian repair is ruined.
The damage Persian rugs actually present
City rugs from Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, Nain, Qum, and Kerman tend toward fine, dense pile that wears in traffic lanes and shows foundation through thinned areas. Tribal and village weaves — Heriz, Bidjar, Sarouk, and the nomadic Gabbeh and Baluch pieces — are coarser and more robust, but their wool foundations are vulnerable to dry rot and the wide kilim ends fray and unravel.
Across both, we see worn and missing pile, open holes from moth and pet damage, foundation cracks from years folded at the same line, dye bleed from improper washing, and curled or released selvedges. Each calls for a different sequence, which is why the assessment matters before any work is quoted.
Three generations with Persian textiles
Ghorban Ahmadi’s family has worked with Persian rugs for three generations — his father traded in the Tehran Grand Bazaar, where Ghorban learned the regional weaves, dyes, and knot structures by hand before he ever ran a workbench. He has spent more than fifty years with Persian textiles since.
That grounding was later sharpened under conservators whose work served the State Hermitage, the Louvre, and the British Museum. The result is rare: a repairer who can read a rug’s village of origin from its knot and weft, and who applies museum conservation discipline to a family heirloom rather than a cosmetic patch.
What a Persian rug repair assessment involves
Every Persian rug we take on begins with a free written assessment in our Skokie atelier — we do not quote reweaving from a photo alone. We map the weave structure and knot type, identify the dye chemistry, test colourfastness, and probe the foundation for dry rot or prior repairs hidden behind glue or machine serging.
You receive an honest scope: what is recoverable, what is not, the sequence of work, and a written estimate before anything begins.
Where damage is extensive enough to affect value, targeted repair becomes full rug restoration — and we will tell you honestly which your rug needs.
Persian rug repair is a specialism within our full rug repair service. When a Persian piece is valuable enough that conservation and documentation matter, see our antique & Persian restoration work.
Common questions
Can you repair a Persian rug with pile loss?
Yes. Where the foundation is intact but the knots are gone, we recreate the missing pile knot by knot at the original density and knot type, so the rebuilt area sits at the same height and catches light the same way as the surrounding field.
How do you match the colors on a Persian rug?
We build replacement yarn from multiple dye samples until the new knots disappear into the rug’s abrash — the natural colour variation of its original natural dyes. A single flat synthetic colour is what makes a repair obvious; a layered, sampled match is what makes it vanish.
What if the foundation is damaged?
Foundation damage is repaired first. We rebuild the warp and weft under correct tension — reproducing any weft depression — before a single knot of pile goes back. Reweaving over a cracked or rotted foundation simply rebuilds onto failing threads.
Do you repair tribal and village rugs as well as city rugs?
Yes — Heriz, Bidjar, Sarouk, Gabbeh, and Baluch tribal weaves as readily as fine city rugs from Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, Nain, and Qum. Each tradition has its own wool, dye, and structure, and we match the repair to the weave it came from.
Serving Chicago and the North Shore
Ahmadi Rug provides Persian rug repair for homeowners and interior designers across Chicago and the North Shore. We offer free insured pickup and delivery from Lincoln Park, Gold Coast, Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, Lake Forest, Highland Park, Northbrook, Glenview, and Skokie — as well as western suburbs including Hinsdale, Oak Park, and Naperville.
Persian repairs range from 2–4 weeks for small work to several months for full antique reconstruction. Every piece is assessed in person before a written estimate is given.
To schedule a free pickup from anywhere in our service area, call (847) 440-1349 or submit an estimate request online.
Have a Persian rug worth saving?
Send photos and the rug’s story — we respond within 2 hours during workshop hours with an honest assessment.