Rug Repair
Rug Hole, Tear & Patch Repair in Atlanta
We rebuild damaged areas knot by knot using hand-matched wool. On most rugs, the repair is very difficult to see.
How We Approach Hole and Tear Repair
A hole in a hand-knotted rug is not the end of the rug. The pile — the part you see — sits on top of a foundation of warp and weft threads. If the foundation is intact, we can rebuild the pile knot by knot using wool hand-dyed to match the surrounding area. The repair becomes structurally part of the rug, and on a well-executed job it's very difficult to see.
Tears and splits are handled similarly — we re-secure the foundation threads and rebuild the pile over the repaired area. For damage that's too extensive for reweaving to be practical, we patch with period-matched material: a piece of rug with a similar age, construction, and color palette, inserted and secured so the repair blends as well as possible.
We'll always tell you honestly what's possible and what it costs. On a low-value rug with extensive damage, the cost of reweaving can exceed what the rug is worth — and we'll say so before we start.
Types of Damage We Repair
Holes — reweaving knot by knot
We rebuild holes by hand-knotting new pile onto the intact foundation using matched wool. The repair is structurally part of the rug. On most rugs with small to medium holes, the result is very difficult to see.
Tears and splits
Tears along the warp or weft are re-secured at the foundation level, then the pile is rebuilt over the repaired area. We address the structural damage first — cosmetic repair on an unstable foundation won't hold.
Patching
When a damaged area is too large for reweaving to be practical, we patch with period-matched material — a piece of rug with similar age, construction, and color. The patch is secured and the edges are finished so the repair blends as well as possible.
Moth damage
Moth larvae eat the wool pile but leave the cotton or silk foundation intact. We treat the rug to eliminate any remaining larvae, then reweave the damaged areas using matched wool. We'll assess the extent of the damage and tell you whether repair is cost-effective.
Pet damage
Chewed corners and edges are rebuilt by reweaving the pile and rebinding the edge. Pulled or snagged pile is re-secured and trimmed to match the surrounding height. We treat for odor if needed.
Burn holes
Burn damage is usually localized and the foundation is often intact. We remove the damaged pile and reweave the area using matched wool. Color matching is the main challenge — we'll show you the match before we start.
Color Matching: The Hardest Part
On a new rug, color matching is straightforward — we work from our stock of hand-dyed wool in a wide range of colors and dye additional fiber when needed. On an antique rug, it's much harder. Colors mellow and shift over decades, and a new fiber dyed to the original color will look bright and wrong next to the aged surrounding pile.
We address this by over-dyeing the repair fiber after it's woven in — applying a light wash that mellows the new wool to match the aged surrounding area. It's an extra step, but it's the difference between a repair that's invisible and one that's obvious.
We'll show you the color match before we start and let you approve it. If we can't get close enough, we'll tell you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related services
Get a Free Repair Estimate
Bring your rug in or schedule a free pick-up. We'll assess the damage and tell you exactly what we can do and what it costs — before any work begins.
Contact Atlanta Rug Restoration
We're here to help. Reach out by phone, email, or visit us in Chamblee.
