The creation of oriental rugs takes place on a large, upright loom. All genuine, oriental rugs emerge from the painstaking work of skilled hands, hands that weave either woolen threads, silk threads or yarn onto the longer threads on the loom. Weavers identify the right spot for each thread by examining a picture.

Sometimes weavers work from a special drawing, completing a rug that a customer has specified a particular, new design for. Sometimes the weavers work from designs that are pictured in a book. Other artists devote their time to making the designs that fill these books, or they create the designs that add uniqueness to various oriental rugs.

The long threads on the loom, the first element essential to the creation of an oriental rug, are called warp threads. The warp threads run from one raised pole, a pole parallel to the ground, down to a bottom pole, a second pole parallel to the ground. The weaver sits beside the loom on a low bench. The weaver takes small threads made of wool, silk or yarn and knots them onto the warp threads.

Merchants who sell oriental rugs know how to determine the origin of the colorful, flat floor covering for which they seek a buyer. They know that weavers in different locations use different types of knots to attach the short threads to the long, warp threads. The manner that wool, silk or yarn is knotted onto the warp threads, determines the thickness of the carpet cushion. The merchant in search of a buyer makes a habit of pressing his hand into that cushion. The merchant feels the thickness of the cushion, and then announces the name of the city or village where the rug was made.