A hand-knotted rug is a rug constructed completely by artisan weavers using no mechanical instruments or electronically automated systems. From the shearing, spinning, and dyeing of the wool, to the thousands of individually tied knots, a hand-knotted rug is one-of-a-kind, akin to a piece of art, and will last generations if properly cared for.

A machine-made rug is a rug created by an automated machine, which often produces hundreds of rugs of the same size and design in a single day. While machine-made rugs can be beautiful, the quality of the materials and the integrity of the rug are significantly lower than a handmade rug.