Rug Reweaving & Reknotting — Structural Repair for Holes, Tears & Worn Areas
Holes, tears, and worn-through areas rebuilt the way the rug was made — foundation first, then knotted, height-matched, and colour-blended by hand. No patches, no glue, never outsourced. Rebuilt in our Skokie atelier by third-generation weavers.
Text (847) 440-1349 — estimate within 30 minutes during workshop hours.
Reweaving rebuilds the rug; patching hides it
Reweaving is the hand reconstruction of a hand-knotted rug — rebuilding the foundation and the pile thread by thread, knot by knot, the same way the rug was originally made on the loom. Reknotting is the pile half of that work: tying new knots in the original structure, density, and design where the old ones are gone. Done well, the rebuilt area is indistinguishable from the field around it.
It is the opposite of a patch. A patch glues or sews a piece of another rug behind the damage; it stiffens the area, pulls against the surrounding knots, and works loose within a season. Reweaving has no foreign material and no adhesive — it is simply the rug, continued.
When a rug needs reweaving
Reweaving is the answer whenever the rug’s own structure is gone, not just soiled. Open holes — burns, tears, or damage chewed through by a pet — mean the warp and weft beneath the pile are missing. Foundation damage from dry rot, urine, or years folded at the same line leaves the rug splitting along a line. Worn-through areas, where traffic or sun has taken the pile down to a pale, low patch, leave the foundation showing while the rest of the rug is still full.
Each of these is rebuilt, not covered. The wrong move — a patch or a glued backing — turns a clean reweave into a much larger repair later.
Reweaving, step by step
The sequence is what makes a reweave last. First, foundation repair: new warp threads are strung under correct tension and new weft woven through, rebuilding the structural grid beneath the damage. Only then does pile implantation begin — knotting new wool back row by row in the original knot type and design.
Next, pile-height matching trims and shears the new knots to sit flush with the surrounding pile, so the area catches light the same way. Finally, colour blending: replacement yarn built from multiple dye samples so the new wool melts into the rug’s aged abrash. Skip any step and the repair shows; follow all four and it disappears.
Why machine repair never matches hand reweaving
A hand-knotted rug is an irregular, organic structure — knot counts shift slightly, colours vary across the field, the back carries its own texture. Machine repair and serging impose a uniform, mechanical stitch that cannot follow that irregularity, so the repaired zone reads as a stiff, flat insert no matter how carefully it is colour-matched.
Invisible reweaving on a detailed hole routinely takes forty or more hours of handwork because every knot is placed individually to match the pattern around it. That is exactly why it lasts for decades rather than months — and why we never outsource it.
Built on traditional Persian weaving
Reweaving is loom work done off the loom, and it demands someone who learned to weave in the first place. Ghorban Ahmadi comes from three generations of Persian rug work, beginning in the Tehran Grand Bazaar, and trained under conservators whose work served the State Hermitage, the Louvre, and the British Museum.
That background is what lets us rebuild a Tabriz, an Oushak, or a tribal Kazak in its own structure rather than a generic stitch — the rebuilt knots tied the way that weaving tradition tied them.
Reweaving is the structural core of our full rug repair service. Because a rug should be clean before its colours are matched, we often pair reweaving with a conservation hand-washing so the new wool is blended against the rug’s true, cleaned colour.
Common questions
How long does reweaving take?
Small reweaves complete in about 2–4 weeks; larger holes and worn areas run 4–12 weeks, and extensive antique reconstruction can take 3–6 months. Invisible reweaving is slow by nature — every knot is placed by hand — and we never rush conservation work.
Can you reweave a large hole?
Yes. A large hole is rebuilt foundation-first — new warp strung under tension and new weft woven through — before the pile is knotted back row by row in the original design. Size affects time and cost, not whether it can be done; what matters is that the surrounding foundation is sound.
Will the reweaving be visible?
Done correctly, no. With foundation rebuilt, pile knotted at the original density, height matched, and colour blended into the rug’s aged abrash, you should not be able to find the repair without turning the rug over and studying the back.
How much does rug reweaving cost?
Major reweaving starts at $500 and is priced by the area, knot density, and pattern complexity, because every knot is placed individually. You receive a free written assessment with a firm estimate before any work begins — we never quote reweaving from a photo alone.
Serving Chicago and the North Shore
Ahmadi Rug provides rug reweaving and reknotting 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.
Reweaving runs from 2–4 weeks for small areas to several months for extensive antique reconstruction. We never rush conservation work — a rug that has lasted a century deserves the weeks it needs.
To schedule a free pickup from anywhere in our service area, call (847) 440-1349 or submit an estimate request online.
A hole is not the end of the rug.
Send a close-up of the damage and a full shot of the rug — we respond within 2 hours during workshop hours.