Sivrihisar Rug is a traditional type of weaving produced in the Sivrihisar district of Eskişehir province, using sheep wool yarns colored with entirely natural dyes on wooden looms.

Product Profile and Type of Geographical Indication

Sivrihisar Rug is categorized under handicraft products, specifically within the rug group. It has been registered as a "designation of origin" by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office. The product, with its varieties such as rug, zilli, and cicim, and its unique patterns, holds an important place in Sivrihisar's cultural heritage.

Product Description and Distinguishing Features

Sivrihisar Rug is woven in a rectangular shape and comes in varieties such as rug, zilli, and cicim. The looms used are made of beech or pine wood and have average dimensions of 250x190 cm.

• Rug: It is a type of weaving where the weft threads are passed through the warp threads, completely concealing the warps. It is a plain weave. Its average dimensions are 156 cm width, 315 cm length, 6 cm fringe length, and it has a weft density of 40 per 1 cm².
• Zilli: It is a technique that creates a straight or diagonal line effect on the weaving surface using three or more yarn systems. Its average dimensions are 103 cm width, 140 cm length, 12 cm fringe length, and it has a weft/pattern yarn density of 3x12 per 1 cm².
• Cicim: These are weavings produced on vertical looms, with different appearances on the front and back, using decorative yarns for surface embellishment in addition to warp and weft yarns. Its average dimensions are 110 cm width, 146 cm length, 9 cm fringe length, and it has a weft/pattern yarn density of 5x8 per 1 cm².

Geometric patterns are generally used, and the dominant color is red.

^{Sivrihisar Rug (AA)}

Production Method

The tools and equipment used in Sivrihisar Rug production include a spindle, whorl, awl, beater (kirkit), and loom (istar). The production process consists of the following stages:

Preparation of Wool Yarn

• Shearing and Washing the Wool: Sheep are usually shorn in May-June. The shorn wool is washed on a hard surface with a wooden tool called a "tokaç" to remove foreign substances, then rinsed and dried.
• Cleaning and Carding: The dried wool is manually cleaned of remaining dirt, sent to wool carders to be teased, thinned, and manually formed into strips (roving).
• Yarn Spinning and Skeining: Yarns obtained by twisting with a spindle or spinning wheel are formed into skeins. Yarns to be dyed are prepared in hanks 35-60 cm long.

Dyeing

An entirely natural dyeing method is used. Generally, plant-based dyes and natural mordants such as alum, salt, vinegar, buffalo urine, soda, rock salt, oak ash, soil, copper sulfate, and iron sulfate are used.

The dyeing process is carried out in large copper cauldrons. Dyes are placed in warm water along with pre-skeined wool yarns and boiled. They are left to cool for about an hour and then soaked in water for a day. To obtain lighter and pastel shades of the initial color, new yarns are added to the remaining water for second dyeings.

Some Dye Plants Used and Colors Obtained

Walnut husk (dark brown), mint leaf (dark green), woad (blue), chamomile flower (yellow), hawthorn (dirty green), grapevine leaf (yellow and green), madder root (dark red), quince leaf (dark purple), gallnut (camel hair/tan), tetiri root (black), enik root (red), çeşmezen seeds (red), dogwood leaves and flowers (green), henna (reddish brown), thyme (yellow), wormwood (light blue), spurge (light bright yellow), turmeric (yellow), sage (yellow), onion skin (pale yellow), red onion (dark green), tetiri (bright black). Saponaria plant is used to whiten wool.

Warp Preparation

The end of the yarn is tied to the warp beam at the bottom of the loom. The yarn coming from its spool is wound from the top of the loom to the back, brought from the bottom to the front, and wrapped around the warp beam. The yarn from a free spool is passed under the warp beam to form the next warp. The distance between two warps is adjusted equally. Warps continue to be wound in sequence and tightly until the desired number is reached. The winding of the warps onto the loom is completed by tying a knot that will not unravel. The warps are manually separated into two groups (odd and even numbered). The heddle board is passed through the separated section. The heddle board, passed through all warps, is lifted up to be positioned above the part where the heddle bar will be. The winding of the heddle threads begins by tying and fixing the left end of the heddle bar to the loom. The end of the yarn that will form the heddles is tied to the right side of the loom and brought towards the heddle bar by winding. The heddle yarn is wrapped around the heddle bar once. Then the back warp yarn is pulled forward from between the 1st and 2nd warp yarns in the front. The heddle yarn is wrapped once around the heddle bar by winding it behind the pulled-forward warp. Each back warp is pulled forward, and the heddle yarn is wound until the end of the loom. When the heddle winding is complete, the end of the heddle yarn is tightly knotted. After the heddle bar is removed from under the heddle yarns, the warps are ready for weaving.

Weaving Techniques

Rug Technique

It is a technique where weft threads are passed over and under the warp threads and used within motif areas; the warp threads are completely covered by the weft threads, and it is woven plain with both sides having the same appearance.

Zilli Technique

It is a weaving technique based on a system of three or more yarn types. According to the pattern, it is woven with skips such as 2 over-1 under or 3 over-1 under along the row between the pattern yarns.

Cicim Technique

It is a weaving technique created by passing the pattern yarn over a varying number of warp yarns according to the pattern, and then inserting and compacting a weft yarn after each pattern row.

Soumak Technique

It is a weaving technique obtained by wrapping colorful pattern yarns around the warp yarns in various ways.

The logo of the Sivrihisar Rug is located on the back of the rug. All production stages of the Sivrihisar Rug, which has a historical past and a production method specific to its geographical boundaries, take place within the specified geographical boundary.

Geographical Origin and Boundaries

The geographical boundary of the Sivrihisar Rug has been determined as the Sivrihisar district of Eskişehir province. The production method, the natural dyes used, the wool yarns, and the patterns specific to the region are elements that define the product's relationship with the Sivrihisar district within the scope of its geographical indication definition.

Registration Process and Details

An application for the geographical indication registration of the Sivrihisar Rug was made by the Sivrihisar Municipality. The application was submitted on August 11, 2021, with the number C2021/000309. Following the evaluation process, the product was officially registered as a "designation of origin" with registration number 1077 on April 14, 2022. The address of the registrant is recorded as Cumhuriyet Mahallesi, Süleyman Demirel Caddesi No:1, Sivrihisar, Eskişehir.