Pattern for a Kiz-Kilim stripe
Kiz-Kilim rugs
Kiz-Kilim rugs
The Kiz-Kilim rugs have no nap, and are woven with a needle. They are thin and almost alike on both sides. The larger sizes are woven in two strips fastened together so that they can be taken apart and used for curtains. "These Kiz-Kilims are woven by Armenians and Turks in Anatolia (the land of sunrise, and the Greek name for Asia Minor). The literal translation of the word Kiz-Kilim is bride's rug, it being a custom in that country for a bride to present to her husband one of these rugs, which she has woven during her engagement to him. The quality of the rug is supposed to measure the quality of the husband's affection for his bride, consequently we have many beautiful specimens of this class, the brilliant hues and intricate designs of which could only have been inspired by the whisperings of Cupid. They are in open-work patterns—called perforated—and often have long tufts of colored silk tied to the rugs with blue beads, in order to keep them from the effects of the Evil Eye." The Kiz-Kilim rug in the illustration was copied from a genuine rug. The filling is a deep blue and the borders are in oriental colors. The center figure is white, with red, brown, and yellow inside. There are four kinds of Kilims. Much interesting and valuable information can be found in John Kimberley Mumford's "Oriental Rugs"; New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1900, where directions for weaving Kiz-Kilims, Khivas, and Bokharas are given, with a few patterns.
A Kiz-Kilim rug
