Maimana Kilims

Maimana kilims are woven from memory by women in northern Afghanistan, so the stepped diamonds and bright colour shift a little with every row.

Maimana is the capital of Faryab Province, and its weavers are predominantly Uzbek. There is no drawing to follow. Each weaver works the pattern from forms passed from mother to daughter, changing the spacing, scale and colour as she goes, so no two kilims match. Diamonds, lattices and hooked medallions appear in blue, teal, orange and red, with softer pastel and earthy pieces too. They're handwoven from Ghazni wool as a flatweave with no raised pile. There are rugs and runners.

A Maimana kilim is light, hard-wearing and fully reversible. It lies flat under doors, layers over a larger rug and rolls up easily. The runners bring colour to a hallway or kitchen, and a smaller kilim is an easy place to start.