Carpets of silk and cotton have been popular exports dating back centuries. Even today, plush silk carpets, perfected under Mughal design sensibilities, are great take-aways. Fine knotted cotton durries as well as sturdy rugs and Islamic prayer rugs or kilims from Rajasthan are good value for money.

Light-weight durries(floor coverings)are available in numerous styles. The states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan(woolen durries), Uttar Pradesh (geometrical patterns) and Tamil Nadu (stylized patterns) are important weaving centres.

Pile carpets were introduced from Iran to Kashmir in the 15th century. Here carpet making follows the shawl-weaving tradition, its designs are based on Persian and central Asian styles. Kashmir is also known for other types of floor coverings, known as theNamdas, Hook rugs and Gabbas. Namdas are made of felted wool and cotton and are embroidered with woolen chain stitches. The hook rug is made with chain stitch embroidery worked with a hook called ahri. A thick jute cloth is embroidered fully sothat the base material is not visible. The Gabba is an appliqué done on worn-out woolen blankets.

Carpets produced in Agra and Amritsar have fine quality patterns on a red, ivory, green and black background. Jaipur in Rajasthan produces quality carpets, which vary from 80 knots to 120 know per square inch. Most of them have geometrical patterns. Mirzapur and Bhadoi also make quality carpet of varieties. Andhra Pradesh produces geometrical patterned carpets of quality of around 30 to 60 knots per square inch.