The carpets and other textile floor coverings of this heading include :(1) Wilton and similar carpets. These have a strong, heavy ground fabric covered by a pile surface (i.e., a right side formed by adjacent threads or tufts standing upright) or by a looped surface.
The surface of these carpets is formed by additional warp threads which are made to form loops on the right side of the fabric during the weaving process by the temporary insertion of metal rods or wires. When these loops are cut the result is a pile carpet (such as a Wilton, see Figure 4); in this type the pile is simply looped under the weft threads. If, on the contrary, the loops are left uncut, the resulting carpets have a looped pile, such as a Brussels carpet (see Figures 4 and 5).
These carpets may be plain or patterned, the pattern being woven on a loom (e.g., Jacquard loom) specially equipped so as to be able to produce a design obtained by the use of two to five different coloured yarns.
Wilton carpets are also produced by weaving two fabrics with a common pile thread which is cut after weaving to form two pile carpets (face-to-face Wilton).
The pile yarn is usually of wool or a wool/nylon mixture, but it may also be of cotton, polyamide, acrylic, viscose or a blend of these fibres. The ground fabric is usually of cotton, jute or polypropylene. (2) Axminster carpets. These are machine-woven carpets in which successive weft-wise rows of pile are inserted during weaving according to a predetermined arrangement of colours. (3) Chenille carpets. The principal characteristic of these is that their pile surface is produced by the use of chenille yarns (see Explanatory Note to heading 56.06). These yarns may be used as an additional weft woven in the normal way; in some cases short pieces of chenille yarn are inserted as an extra discontinuous warp held in place by the ground fabric. (4) Flat weave carpets which have no loops or pile but can be distinguished from the textile
fabrics of Chapters 50 to 55 in that, being heavy and strong, they are clearly intended for use as floor coverings.
These include Kidderminster or so-called Belgian carpets which are double fabrics, the design being produced by the interchange at intervals of the two fabrics. Apart from these relatively fine house carpets, the heading also covers coarse carpets or carpeting (such as drugget) of jute, coir, hair, paper yarns, etc. (usually plain, twill or chevron weaves), and rag carpets with a warp of jute yarn and a weft made of strips of waste fabric tied end to end. (5) Door mats and matting. These are essentially composed of rigid tufts, usually of coconut fibre or sisal, simply looped under the warp threads of the ground fabric; they are produced in small sizes appropriate for their intended uses. (6) Terry towelling or similar bath-mats.
It should be noted that certain carpets are obtained in a way similar to many pile or chenille fabrics of heading 58.01, but being essentially intended as floor coverings, they are distinguished by their solidity, by the coarseness of the materials used in their manufacture or by the stiffness of the ground fabric, which generally has an additional warp (stuffer). (7) Kelem , Schumacks , Karamanie and similar hand-woven rugs. Kelem (or Khilim), also called Karamanie, is obtained by the same method of manufacture as the hand-woven tapestries described in the Explanatory Note to heading 58.05, Part (A). Its texture is, therefore, comparable to that of the above-mentioned tapestries and generally the same gaps are to be found with the line of the warp. Nevertheless, as far as the pattern is concerned, Kelem never has any flowers or foliage, but only rectilinear designs. Although the front may be distinguished from the reverse, the difference is so slight that both sides may be used.
Kelem is sometimes made up of two long strips sewn together, the design being worked in such a way as to conceal the stitching. That is why it has a border (woven ends) only on its short edges or even none at all. This clearly does not exclude added borders.
Generally, the warp is woollen and the weft is wool or cotton.
The heading also covers items manufactured according to Kelem techniques (in central Europe in particular) which are patterned with decorative designs of the same type as those of the light, oriental Kelem.
Schumacks is woven in the same way as Kelem but differs from the latter in the following ways :
- as soon as one or two weft lines forming the pattern are completely finished, a supplementary weft thread is inserted throughout the width of the piece, which prevents gaps in the warp;
- as regards the pattern, the background is usually decorated with three to five flat multicoloured stars which look like medallions; the border generally consists of one wide main band and from two to three secondary bands. The reverse side has a hairy a
The weft of Schumacks is woollen while the warp may be woollen or cotton, or even goat hair.
The similar carpets include in particular Sileh which is manufactured in a similar way to Schumacks. The pattern of Sileh is basically made up of S-shaped motifs either the right way round or back to front, and animal figure motifs dotted across the whole of the surface. The warp and the weft of the Sileh are woollen (the warp is, in rare cases, of cotton).
The heading excludes mats and matting of plaiting materials (Chapter 46).
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