Raise your hand if you have ever heard mention of a Rya rug? That’s not many.
I recently stumbled across a YouTube video on Rya rugs. I’ll post that at the end.
For written information, here is what little bit I could find.
A rya is traditionally a Scandinavian wool rug, sporting a 1 to 3 inch long pile. They are made using a form of the Ghiordes knot.
Rya means rug in English, though the original meaning in Sweden of rya was a bed cover with a knotted pile.
As early as the fifteenth century, the first ryas were created with coarse, long-piled wool, and said to be used by mariner instead of furs for heavy covers.
The insulation that ryas provide is said to be amazing. The pile side is put face down on the bed/person and the heat is trapped within the openness of the wool.
Rya is also a sheep breed. I will have to look further into the breed itself and see what I can find for another post.
Here is one of the videos I found:
