Abrash or fault?
| Sign | Abrash | Likely fault |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | A band across the width, with soft edges | A patch, blotch or streak along the length |
| Cause | A different batch of hand-dyed yarn | Dye bleeding, poor washing, staining or uneven drying |
| Halo | None | Pink or grey halo around deep colours after washing |
| Across a set | Varies from rug to rug | Same mark in the same place on many rugs points to finishing |
Abrash also appears in dhurries and kilims and other flatweaves made from hand-dyed yarn. In machine-made carpets the yarn is not hand-dyed in small batches, so a band there is more likely a production fault.
How to write abrash into an order
"Some abrash accepted" settles nothing, because buyer and weaver will read it differently. A workable specification for, say, 40 hand-knotted rugs in a light grey design:
- Mild abrash accepted, as shown on the approved strike-off or golden sample.
- No band darker or lighter than the two limit swatches attached to the order.
- No more than two visible bands per rug.
- Bands judged in daylight from both ends, with the pile and against it.
Viewing direction matters: pile leaning away from the eye looks lighter than pile leaning towards it, so a band can seem to vanish from one end.
How Clear To Load judges abrash
Our inspector views each rug from both ends against the approved strike-off and photographs every band. Where your specification sets a limit, a band outside it is classed as a major or minor defect by strength. Where the specification is silent, a strong band is reported as Hold, so the decision stays with you. For colour variation in fabrics and home textiles, the related term is shade band.