Most people assume the hardest part of a hand-knotted rug is the weaving

Most people assume the hardest part of a hand-knotted rug is the weaving.

For this project, the toughest phase came after the weaving was done.

1.⁠ ⁠The Rug Became a 2-Ton Challenge
Once the rug was off the loom and washed, the weight crossed two tons.
No one can manually lift something like that.

We had to get city permissions, bring in industrial cranes, and coordinate movement across Jaipur, just to shift it between washing and finishing units.

2.⁠ ⁠Our Facility Wasn’t Big Enough
A 27.5 × 56 ft silk rug needs full open space for proper washing and drying.
Our existing unit simply couldn’t accommodate it.

So we rented an entirely new plot of land, set up temporary washing systems, and later ended up buying that land permanently. That’s how big this project was.

3.⁠ ⁠Finishing Took 60 Days
Pure silk in such a massive format behaves differently:
It shows every micro-tension
It needs controlled drying
It must be clipped and finished without distorting the design

What normally takes a few days took two full months.

4.⁠ ⁠A Rug That Pushed Every Limit
By the time it was complete, this single rug had required:
20 months of weaving
14 master weavers
40 colours
A 2-ton wash + finish process

Multiple cranes, new land, and dozens of hands
This wasn’t just a big rug – it was the most technically demanding project we’ve ever executed.

And it proved something important:
Craft at this scale requires problem-solving far beyond the loom.

This concludes Part 3 of the series.
Thank you for following the journey behind our most challenging project to date.