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A Shahsavan kilim with typical geometrical symbols some of them of mythological inspiration such as the crab or scarabeus

Kilims are flat tapestry-woven carpets or rugs produced from the Balkans to Pakistan. Kilims can be purely decorative or can function as prayer rugs.

The name 'kilim' or 'kelim' is Turkish, and comes from the Persian gelim (گلیم) 'to spread roughly'. Various forms of the word are used in the Balkan languages (e.g. Greek κιλίμι). In Kurdish, they are called 'berr'.

Not only pile carpets were produced in ancient times, but also kilims.

"As kilims are much less durable than rugs that have a pile to protect the warp and weft, it is not surprising that few of great age remain. The oldest piece of which we have any knowledge is a fragment obtained by M. A. Stein, the archaeological explorer, from the ruins near Khotan, in Eastern Turkestan, of an ancient settlement, which was buried by sand drifts about the fourth or fifth century anno domini. The weave is almost identical with that of modern kilims, and has about fourteen threads of warp and sixteen threads of weft to the inch. The pattern consists of narrow stripes of blue, green, brownish yellow, and red, containing very small geometric designs. With this one exception, so peculiarly preserved, there are probably very few over a century old."^[1]

Kilims are produced by tightly interweaving the warp and weft strands of the weave to produce a flat surface with no pile. Most kilim weaves are "weft-facing", i.e., the horizontal weft strands are pulled tightly downward so that they hide the vertical warp strands.

When the end of a color boundary is reached, the weft yarn is wound back from the boundary point. Thus, if the boundary of a field is a straight vertical line, a vertical slit forms between the two different color areas where they meet. For this reason, most kilims can be classed as "slit woven" textiles. The slits are beloved by collectors, as they produce very sharp-etched designs, emphasizing the geometry of the weave. Weaving strategies for avoiding slit formation, such as interlocking, produce a more blurred design image.

The weft strands, which carry the visible design and color, are almost always wool, whereas the hidden warp strands can be either wool or cotton. The warp strands are only visible at the ends, where they emerge as the fringe. This fringe is usually tied in bunches, to ensure against loosening or unraveling of the weave. [Source for this description of the weaving: Davies 2000].

Because kilims are cheaper than pile rugs, beginning carpet collectors often start with them. Despite what many perceive as their secondary (or inferior) status to pile carpets, kilims have become increasingly collectible in themselves over recent years, with quality pieces now commanding high prices.

What some sensed as inferiority was actually a different nature of rugs woven for indigenous use as opposed to rugs woven on a strictly commercial basis. Because kilims were not a major export article, there were no foreign market pressures changing the designs, as happened with pile carpets. Once collectors began to value authentic village weaving, kilims became popular.

Gelim of Harsin in Kermanshah, Tarh-e-Aroosak (Doll Design) Type

• Ordinary gilims: this type of gilim is woven with hemp, cotton and also woolthreads.
• Gunny gilim: this special type is woven with varicolored pieces of cloth.
• Suzāni gilim: this type is embroidered with raised figures after the ordinary gilim is woven.
• Needlework gilim: this type of gilim is hung on the wall and is woven with cotton threads.
• Jol: is a kind of gilim the surface of which is embroidered. With its decorative designs, it is used as horse saddle.
• Palās: is a kinds of gilim in which each color is used for weaving several rajs, it does not have a pile. Palas is also the name used for the coarse woolen robes dervish wear.
• Jājim or chador-shab: is a kind of striped carpet thinner than palas woven with colored threads.
• Zilu: is a kind gilim woven with cotton threads and simple designs quite in harmony with rural life. It has cotton warp and weft.
• Rakht-e-khāb pich (bed-packing gilims): this type of gilim is used in migrating tribes.
• Charkhi-bāf gilim: is a kind of sturdy and thick gilim only one side of which can be used.
• Khorjin (Saddle-bags) and Juwals: these gilims are used for carrying goods.
• Gilimcheh (small gilims): these are woven like gilims but these could be tiny and stylin.
• Masnads: these are sturdy and fine-woven decorative gilimeches.
• Navār-chādor (tent-band): this type of gilim is devorative.
• Sajādeh (prayer gilims): these are woven with altar designs and are used for prayers.
• Ghigh: this gilim is used for the walls of tents; both of its side are the same and can be used alike.
• Rah Rah: Rah Rah Kilims are mostly knitted in Sirjan region and also are called Khatti Design Kilims. Ardebil and Moghan knitt the same design but in lower qualities.

• Allane, Lee (1988). Oriental Rugs: A Buyer's Guide. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-27517-3. 
• Davies, Peter (2000). Antique kilims of Anatolia. W.W. Norton & Co.. ISBN 0393730476 9780393730470 9780393730470 0393730476.  [The first edition of this book was published by Rizzoli International in 1993 as "The Tribal Eye: Antique kilims of Anatolia" ISBN 0847817059 9780847817054 9780847817054 0847817059]

• Yanni Petsopoulos, Kilims: Flat Woven Tapestry Rugs, Rizzoli, 1979, ISBN 0-847-80245-0

• Tapestry
• Navajo Rug

• Basic Tribal and Village Weaves
• Kilim Gallery