Design Directions: Carpet

Material Choices | Signs of Quality | The Making of a Karastan

MATERIAL CHOICES

The type of fiber used in a carpet plays a key role in how it feels and how well it performs. Basically, there are two fiber types: natural and man-made. The predominant natural carpet fiber is wool. Other natural materials such as silk, linen, and cotton are sometimes blended with wool, but rarely used alone. Most carpets on the market are made from synthetic fibers such as nylon, rayon, acrylic, polypropylene and polyester.

Let’s take a closer look at each:

Wool: Wool is the most beautiful, luxurious, and durable of all the carpet fibers. It is a natural fiber that is highly regarded for its strength, durability, crush resistance, cleanability, and comfort. Visit Karastan Wools to learn more about this superior fiber.

Nylon: This man-made fiber provides a less expensive option than all-wool carpets while maintaining durability and softness. Karastan uses DuPont Tactesse® Nylon in many of its carpets for added crush resistance and stain protection.

Acrylic: Acrylic has good resilience, but can be less durable. Taking full advantage of acrylic’s benefits, Karastan blends acrylic with wool in its Cobble Hill and Cobble Road carpets. The combination brings richness and resilience together at an affordable price.

Polypropylene: Also known as olefin, polypropylene is a thermoplastic resin made from propylene gas. Carpets made from polypropylene have good abrasion resistance, but tend to flatten quickly.

Polyester: Polyester has good color clarity, colorfastness, and resistance to water-soluble stains. All of Karastan’s staple polyester yarn comes from the company’s state-of-the art plastic bottle recycling facility. This “food” grade PET Polyester fiber might be considered to be better quality than “carpet-grade” polyester fiber.