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Playable heritage game

Persian Carpet Knotting

Also known as فرش دستباف

A hand-knotted carpet is built one knot at a time: the weaver follows a coloured chart in which every square stands for a single knot of dyed wool. Medallions, borders, garden layouts and leaf-like boteh shapes grow from the middle outward, the same on every side.

Play the previewAbout this tradition
Persian Carpet Knotting: photograph by Fabienkhan
Photo: Fabienkhan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source on Wikimedia Commons
Persian Carpet Knotting: the game in attract modeLive previewPlay

Runs in your browser, works offline once loaded.

How to play

  1. Pick a wool colour and a shape from the strip under the chart: solid knots, diamonds, stars, leaves, rings and hexagons.
  2. Tap a square to tie a knot: the knots on the other three sides and the mirrored corners follow, so the chart stays balanced.
  3. Copy the small chart above, then press Check.
Rules at a glance
  • The chart is balanced in four turns and in mirror image, as carpet fields are.
  • A square scores only when its shape and its wool colour both match the chart.
  • Tying the same shape and colour again, or using the eraser, removes the knot.
  • Three stars need a near-perfect copy; undo and clear are free.

About the tradition

Carpet weaving has been practised for centuries in towns, villages and tribal camps across Iran and Turkey, each region with its own colours and layouts, and it is still a major household and workshop craft.

Origins

A living tradition passed from person to person; it is not tied to a single dated origin. It belongs to the cultural world of Persia, Caucasus and Central Asia.

Credits

Sources

Get the app

Persian Carpet Knotting is one of 17 textile crafts in the Textile Crafts of the World app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Submitted to the App Store and Google Play; in review. Store links appear here the day it goes live. One app, many traditions, no account needed.

See all 17 textile crafts in the app

In review on theApp StoreIn review on theGoogle Play

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