Wondering how broadloom carpet is made? At one time the most popular method of broadloom carpet manufacturing was weaving. Until 1947, carpets were primarily made of wool and some cotton. Nylon was first introduced in 1947 and grew steadily to dominate the market. Polyester was first used in 1965 and was followed soon by polypropylene (olefin). Over 70 years ago tufting a process once used to make bedspreads came into popularity for making carpet. Many of the tufted carpets were first made of cotton. Today most carpets are made with synthetic fibers and still tufted.
Broadloom is Made by the Mile
Unlike weaving which is a very slow manufacturing process, tufting makes carpet at very high speeds. A saying about how carpet is made is, “carpet was once manufactured by the yard and is now manufactured by the mile.”
For both weaving and tufting, carpet is made using similar procedures, while others differ significantly.
Manufacturing Tufted Carpet
Tufting machines sew the yarn through a backing material leaving a loop. For cut pile, the looped is cut during tufting. Patterned carpets can also be created on tufting machines. Computers are used to determine the patterns, styles, construction, and density. No longer does someone have to do everything by hand or mentally, as the tufting machines will take all of the guesswork out and make things easy on the operator.
Once the fibers have been locked into place, the carpet is dyed using a variety of methods that will create patterns or effects. For cut pile carpets, in the final stage the pile is sheared to give the cut loops a level surface.
A secondary back is applied to give it stability and allow it to be stretched during the installation process. Most of the carpets of this day and age will receive stain protection as well, which happens during the manufacturing phase.
Manufacturing Woven Carpet
The yarn for the carpet is woven through or around vertical fibers known as warps, and then locked into place with horizontal strands known as wefts. The woven carpets can utilize a variety of colors as well to create intricate patterns in the highest quality of carpets.
How Carpet is Made Will Affect Installation Method
How carpet is made will affect how the carpet is installed. In the past, the creation of carpet was a very complicated process, as there were no computers or technology to do most of the work. Back then, it was all done by hand. The carpets were great, although colors and textures to select from were limited.
Today’s faster production level has helped to hold down costs for the end user. This has added to the popularity of carpet and enabled individuals the opportunity to redecorate more often than most of us would otherwise be able to do.
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