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Have you ever looked at a Turkish rug and marveled at the motifs and patterns? Or seen a multi-shaft double-corduroy piece and felt a distinct pang of loom envy at the colorful patterned pile? If you answered yes to either of these questions—or you’re just looking for a super-simple technique to add texture to your weaving, the Ghiordes knot is the technique for you!
Introducing the Ghiordes Knot
Benefits
I love the Ghiordes knot for so many reasons! With this simple technique you can:
- Add areas of pile as small or as large as you’d like, anywhere within your cloth
- Strategically place pile in different colors to build patterns as simple or as detailed as you’d like
- Build woven patterns in a freeform manner, intuitively placing each knot
- Use charted designs—and even digital photographs!—to weave patterns
The Ghiordes knot is a simple technique—perfect for even the newest of weavers—with endless opportunities for creative exploration.
Basic Technique
Traditionally, pile rugs and many other pile fabrics from around the world were woven using a combination of plain weave and Ghiordes knots. The method for making the knot is simple: One or more small lengths of yarn are attached to two warp ends, leaving you with the tails on the top of the fabric. You can see an illustration below showing just how easy these steps are.
“But wait,” you might be saying, “Isn’t this rya by a different name?” Yes—sort of! Technically rya is the pile and the Ghiordes knot is the technique used to create the rya. Many weavers and publications use the term rya knot and Ghiordes knot interchangeably. That doesn’t matter. What’s important is that if you’ve woven rya, you’ve already learned the basics of the Ghiordes knot!
Pictures in Pile
What’s really cool about this technique is that you can use it to easily weave complex motifs and imagery in your cloth. You can choose exactly where to place each bit of pile, and in what color, building shapes as you go. It’s a bit like woven pointillism, if you think about it—instead of dots of paints you’re using “dots” of pile.
You can weave your designs freehand, or you can use charted patterns. You can create original designs on graph paper, designating each square as one or two knots. Even more excitingly, you can take digital pictures or photos and turn them into pixelated images, and then weave them by treating each pixel as one or more knots. Just imagine the possibilities!
Use the Ghiordes knot to create geometric designs and patterns in pile.
You don’t have to weave complex images, though—even the simplest of patterns looks incredible in pile—stripes, checks, or polka dots are all easy options, making this a perfect technique for beginning weavers. While we often imagine rugs when we think of pile, you can use it to weave smaller projects such as mug rugs or wall hangings, or use it to embellish a larger piece of fabric, as shown in the example below.
Jennifer E. Kwong used the Ghiordes knot to create small areas of rya “moss” in her Juniper Moss Scarf from the Fall 2025 issue. Photo by Matt Graves
Try it at our Weave Together 2027 Workshop
There are so many possibilities when it comes to the Ghiordes knot. I’m already imagining throw pillows, woven in alternating stripes of plain-weave and pile—or with the pile bordering the plain weave on all four sides.
If you’re curious about Ghiordes knot and all the possibilities, check out Angela Tong’s class “Pile on the Fun: Pictures on the Rigid Heddle.” In this class, Angela will teach you everything you need to know about this technique as she guides you through designing and finishing your own textured cloth. She’ll be teaching “Pile on the Fun” at the 2027 Weave Together with Handwoven retreat taking place March 21–25 in York, Pennsylvania. For more information about the event, including the details on Angela’s class and how you can join in on the fun, visit the Weave Together website.
Happy Weaving!
Christina