The basic structure of either knotted fabrics like carpets or flat weaves such as Kilims,Cicims,Silis and Sumaks is a plain weave in which the wefts passed under and over the warps and are beaten down.

 

The designs are formed either by the wefts themselves as in the Kilim or by brocading formed with yarns wound around the threads of this basic structure as in Cicim, Sili and Sumak.

 

Another alternative is to knot short pieces of yarn around the warps between weft, leaving the pieces hanging like tuft to compose a design .

 

For all those techniques, the first pecessity is a loom.

 

LOOMS

 

All these forms of textile,having the same technical foundation, are woven on the same type of loom, on which are applied the different  techniques of Palas, Kilim, Cicim, Sili, Sumak or pile weaving. A loom, in its simplest form,consists of two beams between which the warp ends are held tightly at the top and bottom.In addition, there is the ' Gücü ' (reed) , which sloted between the warp threads to adjust the position of the warps on the front and rear of the loom.The third component is a flat stick, the ' Varangelen ' - shed rod - , which is used to keep the two sets of warps apart when necessary.This simple system has been adapted to two types of loom named according to their positions : vertical or horizontal.The horizontal loom, called the ' Kon tezgahı ' by the Yörüks in extremely simple and primitive device.

 

On horizontal or ground looms, the warps are stretched between two wooden beams which are tied about ten cm from the ground to four pegs fixed into the ground and placed the correct distance apart to accommodate the length and width of the textile to be woven.About half-way between the beams, the ' Gücü ' is fixed.It is kept slightly above the level of the warps by supporting it with stones or whatever else is available.This simple loom is completed after the shed rod is slotted between the warps while working.

 

The vertical loom is basically the same in structure, but stands vertically by securing the two side beams on which the warps are tied to fixed frame posts called ' İştar Ağacı ' .This kind of loom is also known as the ' İştar ' .

 

Variations of it are to be found both on the plateaus and in the villages, and even in the most developed carpet workshops.