It’s true that there are many different brand names, styles and colours of carpet on the market to choose from. But what can make choosing carpets in Bedford that much more challenging is carpet construction type. Luckily, the types of carpet listed below can be easily identified by sight, making the one best suited to your needs much easier to locate.
Cut Pile
When the yarn of a carpet is cut and left to stand up, cut pile carpet is the result. There are two types of cut pile carpet: plush and hard twist. The yarn in plush pile carpet is loosely twisted, where the hard-twist version consists of yarn that has been tightly twisted.
Cut pile carpeting has a luxurious look, and is best suited for low-traffic areas due to their upkeep and maintenance requirements.
Loop Pile
Loop pile carpet is made up of uncut yarn that has been looped back into the backing fabric. Loop pile carpet exists in different heights: uniform height across the entire carpet, or in multi-level loops. The latter has a more textured appearance.
This type of carpet is best suited to high-traffic areas due to its durability and ability to handle hard wear. It should be noted here that loop pile carpet may not be the best choice for households with pets, as their claws can become caught in the loops.
Cut and Loop
As its name suggests, cut and loop carpeting combines both the cut and loop style. Cut and loop carpeting is available in several textures and patterns. Because of their varied construction, cut and loop carpeting can be placed in virtually any room and retain its durability and appearance.
Knotted
Knotted pile carpet is created when supplementary weft rising at an angle from the weave surface is alternated with the weft threads.
Frieze and Flat Weave
Frieze carpet is very tightly twisted and features cut pile. Over time, its short fibres will curl in various directions, giving it a unique appearance. This type of construction is ideal for areas of high traffic.
The flat weave construction is most commonly found in the Orient. Its construction involves interlocking weft and warp threads. Flat weave carpeting can be seen in three styles: plain weave, soumak and tapestry weave.
Tufted
A tufting machine constructs this carpet, which can be constructed with loop piles, cut piles or both. Tufted carpet can be made of a single colour of yarn. It can also be made with no colour and be printed or dyed after it’s been manufactured. This type of carpet is made by punching the yarn through the woven backing fabric using needles, and then applying a secondary backing fabric.
Woven
Carpets in the woven style, such as Axminster carpets, are considered to be the best on the market as far as quality is concerned. This may be because woven carpet is made using the traditional method of weaving the backing fabric and the yarn of the pile at the same time. An endless combination of colours can be used for woven carpets and then woven into intricate patterns. Other brands of woven carpet may only use a few colours and have a plainer texture. All told, woven carpets offer an attractive appearance that retains their look.
The construction of the carpet you choose will often speak to its durability. But durability of your chosen carpeting will also depend on other factors such as weight of the fibres, density of the pile and how many yarn stitches are present per inch.
Hard-wearing carpets will have heavy fibre weights, higher pile density and a high number of yarn stitches per inch. The latter will cause the carpet to be resistant to repeated weight being placed on it, also known as its crush resistance.