About Jan Ali, Our Rug Repair Expert

Jan Ali, our dependable expert, can do many forms of rug repair on the premises. Able to trace his lineage back to Chinngis Khan. He belongs to the tribe of Hazara which means "one thousand." This is in reference to the 1000 warriors Chinngis Khan left behind to guard Central Asia from the mountain frontier of Afghanistan, some 800 years ago. So Jan Ali is tough and believes in doing things right! Your rug could not be in safer hands; because Jan has traversed much of Asia on foot, he really knows his rugs.

Jan Ali is as old as the sands of time–perhaps even older. He won't say, so we don't know! When you enter the shop, Jan sits quietly in the corner, assiduously making his repairs, blending like a chameleon into his surroundings so well that most people don't even know he’s there. Jan Ali has undertaken the meticulous repair work here at The Persian Carpet for forty years and we consider ourselves very fortunate to have such an expert gracing us with his presence!

Types of Repairs

Most repair work is selvedge, hemstitch, or fringe repair. Selvedge is when the side of the rug has become loose and frayed and the cotton foundation threads are exposed. In this case, Jan Ali runs a continuous loop of the appropriate yard down the length of the side of the rug. Often, the ends of a rug can be torn up by vacuum cleaners. When this happens, there is nothing to stop each hand-tied knot from working itself free. In order to secure the end and stop further damage, Jan Ali runs a hemstitch. When the fringe is completely ruined, some clients prefer new fringe to be sewn on rather than a hemstitch. Jan Ali can also repair tears and install apparatus to hang rugs.

The most severe damage to a rug occurs when a hole appears in the actual field of the rug. This often occurs where a table leg has been placed and water has settled around the base of the leg. Fortunately, and especially if you have a nice antique rug, the damaged area can be rewoven and repiled. There is no set charge for this service. Each rug is assessed case-by-case, and then sent to New York for repair. While costly, this procedure increases the value of your antique rug.

Occasionally, when there is a water leak and a rug gets wet, the cotton warp and weft strings that are the foundation of the rug become stressed and the edges curl. We treat this problem through the process of blocking. We apply starch to the edges of the rug and secure them with blocks of wood on each side with vice-grips.

Most of these services are priced by the linear foot

• Selvedge: $20 per linear foot
• Hemstitch $20 per linear foot
• Fringe: $20 per linear foot
• Tears/Apparatus for Hanging Rugs: Priced individually, based on work required
• Holes: Priced individually by our New York team
• Curled Edges: $20 per linear foot

The Persian Carpet proudly provides rug repair services for Durham, Chapel Hill,  Raleigh, Apex, Cary, Greensboro, and Burlington.