Colours and their meaning

The rug weaver has a good selection of dye stuffs a his disposal and in old days he took the advantage of the material for their extraction such as plants,roots and insects which he found at his door steps.
The red colors are taken from the roots of the madder plant a wild perennial growing to more than three feet.
The yellow is obtain from the stalk flowers and leaves of a reseda plant, saffron-yellow from the dried pistils of the saffron crocus and vine leaves and pomegranates skins.
Blue is made from the indigo plant growing in the east Indies also the indigo plant are used for mixing Green,yellow and blue.
Gray and Brown are obtained from the nutshells or oak bark.
Black are obtained from oak apples.
In Persian culture every color has a meaning such as;

White is the color of grief.

Blue is the colour of heaven,authority and power.

Red is the wealth and joy.

Yellow is the emperor's colour.

Orange represents devotion and piety.

Green is regarded as sacred colour.

The rug weaver has a good selection of dye stuffs at his disposal and in old days he took the advantage of the material for their extraction such as plants,roots and insects which he found at his door steps.
The red colours are taken from the roots of the madder plant a wild perennial growing to more than three feet.
The yellow is obtain from the stalk flowers and leaves of a reseda plant, saffron-yellow from the dried pistils of the saffron crocus and vine leaves and pomegranate skins.
Blue is made from the indigo plant growing in the East Indies also the indigo plant are used for mixing Green,yellow and blue.
Gray and brown are obtained from the nutshells or oak bark.
Black are obtained from oak apples .
In Persian culture every colour has a meaning such as;

White, is the colour of grief.

Blue, is the colour of heaven,authority and power.

Red, is for wealth and joy.

Yellow, is the Emperor's colour.

Orange, represents devotion and piety.

Green, is regarded as sacred colour .

Rug dyeing

the yarn is first rinsed for half an hour in hot water. if the wool is very greasy approximately 3% soda and a little soap are mixed into the water. then the yarn is steeped for about 12 hours in an alum-bath, to a formula of one pound of yarn to 1/4 pound alum. the alum-bath is then repeated, or the yarn is boiled for about an hour in alum-water. these preliminary processes must be completed before dyeing, which will take more or less time according to the particular dye. the yarn remains in the dye bath for many hours,sometimes for days. finally it is dried in the sun.
In the case of town or village made rugs,yarn can be dyed in bulk so as to obtain a uniform tint. Nomads,however,constantly on the move,and with only a few primitive and small vessels at their disposal can dye only small quantities at a time and have really no chance of hitting exactly the same shade each time. Again, there may be variations in color because the wool comes from different sheep.Yet in nomad rugs,this very diversity of tint is often prized.
Skill in dyeing is a prerequisite for the creation of a really fine carpet,since the number of colors often increases with the density of the knotting. The dyer's craft is regarded as a science,and the carpet dyer as a sage, to be consulted about many things. When he is at work, however only carpet dyers may speak to him!