Soumak

[1] Other theories include an etymology from Turkish 'sekmek', 'to skip up and down', meaning the process of weaving; or from any of about 35 species of flowering plant in the Anacardiaceae or sumac family, such as dyer's sumach (Cotinus coggygria), used to make dyestuffs.

Unlike kilim, the back is left ragged, with all the loose ends of the differently-coloured weft threads visible, sometimes several inches long, providing extra thickness and warmth.

Some late Soumaks made by the Kurds are however "weftless", lacking the structural weft support, and the stitches naturally overlap.

The soumak wrapping often covers the whole surface of a bag or rug, but it can equally be applied in decorative strips, contrasting with the plainer and thinner flatweave areas.

[4][8] For example, camel bags from Malatya in Eastern Turkey could be woven in simple flatweave stripes of red and blue, with broad strips of soumak weft-wrapping with motifs for fertility and protection.

Soumak Mafrash (bedding bag) panel, from Borchali , Georgia, late 19th century. The pattern includes motifs used on kilims , such as the eye, cross, and hook, to ward off the evil eye ; the central diamond-shaped motif represents a dragon.
Soumak weave wraps the weft threads over 4 warps and back over 2. The weaver may sometimes, as here, go backwards and forwards, reversing the direction of the wrapping.