True Oriental Rugs should always be hand-woven and knotted. The only exceptions are rugs manufactured by Karastan, a brand that uses unique methods to create machine-made rugs that rival hand-made rugs from around the world.
There are differences between Hand Woven Oriental Rugs and Machine-Made Oriental Rugs.
Both rug types may exhibit traditional designs. The key to making a distinction lies in material. Any rug made from polypropylene and/or nylon has been manufactured by a machine, not created by hand. These rugs often come from Belgium or other countries attempting to mass produce rugs under the “Oriental Area Rug” name. The stitching is quite different on Hand Woven Oriental Rugs. The knots will be more distinguished than those found on machine-made carpets. Oriental Area Rugs originated in Eastern Countries. Therefore, traditional and valuable rugs only come from those countries.