Rugs From Sweden

Rya Rugs

• Rya is a centuries-old rug-making technique used in Sweden and throughout Scandinavia. The technique is similar to those used creating oriental rugs, but the additional use of very long fibers (resembling shag rugs) places a rya rug apart from an oriental. Rya meant shaggy or rough in the old Scandinavian language and is a reference to the long pile. The rugs use woven and knotted techniques and sometimes combine the long pile with flat weaving to produce a varied, textural surface. Most modern versions of the rya are machine-made.

Plastic Rugs

• Always innovative in their approach to materials, the Swedes have created several versions of plastic rugs. One is a machine-woven, fringed rug resembling a cotton Dhurrie that comes in a multitude of colors and patterns. The rugs are typically a combination of thin threads of plastic sheeting and a warp of nylon and cotton. The other plastic rug made in Sweden is designed and manufactured by Brita Sweden and made of plastic and polyester. The patterns are woven geometric' designs created in two-tone colors, full of energy and work well as hall runners, bathroom rugs or to protect the floors in family or play rooms.

Hand-Tufted Rugs

• The Swedish design studio Henzel produces hand-tufted rugs with a painterly look. The rugs could easily hang on a wall and pass as a version of punk or pop art. The rugs require an interior that will showcase the uniqueness of the patterns and color combinations. Henzel creates rugs using a square module system that allows an endless combination of possible results. Rugs can be formed in irregular shapes and can be any grouping of existing or customer-supplied patterns (photographs, words, contemporary paintings) and colors.