Uttar
Pradesh constitutes almost 90 % of the carpet work and nearly 80 % of
the weavers currently available in India. Bhadohi, Mirzapur and Agra are
the major carpet centers in the state. Among these Bhadohi is worth
special mention as the economy of this district and its 500 odd villages
are entirely dependent upon the carpet business. The specialty of Bhadohi carpets is their distinct designs. These designs have been developed indigenously and include various tints of Taj Mahal in natural color or Sirdar in subdued colors. They come with hand embossed or hand carved borders in rose-beige, honey, ivory and Iraq green. Another popular design that is called 'sculpture design'3 uses clippings of the thread around the helm to give it a 3-dimensional texture. Mostly bright colored pastel shades are used in this 18th century design pattern.
Agra in Uttar Pradesh was the first carpet center in the Mogul India. A very interesting system is followed here that has been absurdly named 'Calling Out' system. In this system the master weaver follows the design and keeps calling out to the weavers the colors to be used for each knot.
The Iranian weavers were the originators of carpet weaving in Uttar Pradesh. Their designs besides the high quality of Cashmere wool resulted the flourish of Indian carpet. Today Uttar Pradesh is one of the most important centers in silk carpet exports. Nowadays, the general design of carpets in Uttar Pradesh is a blend of Iranian, Moroccan, French and Turkmen patterns that are drawn by local designers and woven by weavers. Some of the famous designs are named after cities and provinces of Iran such as Sarough, Hamadan, Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, Khorasan
