Hunarmand

Autumn · Half-Day Workshop

Half-Day Carpet Knotting at the Loom

with Mohammad Yusuf Sheikh, hand-knotted carpet master from Khanyar, Srinagar

Sit down at the loom that has been threaded by four generations of the Sheikh family. Mohammad Yusuf walks you through the 1940s Srinagar knot — asymmetric, almost forgotten — and stays beside you for every row of a corner you take home. This is not a tourist demonstration; it is the master sharing the working geometry of his craft.

Duration
4 hours
Capacity
Up to 6 guests
From
Rs. 6,000 / person
Next date
14 Dec 2026
Languages
Koshur · Urdu · English
Venue
The Sheikh Loom Hall · Khanyar, Srinagar — 3 minutes from Khanyar Chowk

What you will actually learn

The technique, in his own words.

  • How to read the warp tension by sound — when the loom is ready
  • The 1940s asymmetric knot: warp once, weft twice (no book records this)
  • Why an off-knot every twelfth row is a signature, not a mistake
  • How a bowing weft tells the master to slow down before damage
  • Tying off the cut so the corner survives a generation, not a season

What you will take home

Something held by the hands, not just the inbox.

  • A small framed corner of carpet you knotted yourself, signed by the master
  • A printed excerpt from Mohammad Yusuf's Craft DNA — your knot named in his ledger
  • A Hunarmand certificate of attendance, sealed and serial-numbered

Session structure

How the 4 hours unfolds.

10:00
10:20
11:00
12:30
13:00
13:50
  • 10:0010:20Tea, introductions, the room of the loom
  • 10:2011:00Demonstration · the 1940s knot, slow
  • 11:0012:30Hands-on · your first row
  • 12:3013:00Kahwa break · stories from the loom
  • 13:0013:50Hands-on · your corner takes shape
  • 13:5014:00Reflection · what the master saw in your hands

Pricing tiers

Five ways to spend the day.

Every tier is set by Mohammad Yusuf and Hunarmand together — never by an algorithm. The Recommended tier is what most participants choose.

  • Witness

    Rs. 2,400/ person

    Sit beside the loom, observe the technique, ask questions. No knotting.

    • 4-hour observer seat
    • Kahwa & Kashmiri lunch
    • Take-home: signed printed excerpt
  • Classic

    Rs. 6,000/ person

    The full Half-Day Workshop — knot a corner you take home.

    • Loom seat for 4 hours
    • Knot one corner under master's hand
    • Kahwa & Kashmiri lunch
    • Hunarmand certificate + corner-of-carpet take-home

    Recommended

  • Private Loom

    Rs. 14,000/ person

    The same workshop, alone with the master. No other participants.

    • Everything in Classic
    • Master's full attention for 4 hours
    • Personal selection of dye palette
  • Two at the Loom

    Rs. 9,500/ person

    Two participants, one loom, one piece — knotted together.

    • Everything in Classic, paired
    • A single shared corner of carpet
    • Two Hunarmand certificates
  • Master's Day

    Rs. 22,000/ person

    Full day with Mohammad Yusuf — knot, dye-bath, and the family lineage wall.

    • 8 hours with the master, lunch & dinner
    • Knot a complete border on a small piece
    • Visit the dye-bath at the bottom of the workshop
    • Sit with the lineage wall — the four generations, named

"I will brew the kahwa myself the morning you come. Bring nothing but your attention. — Yusuf"

Mohammad

Reserve a seat