Flat weaves are all types of weaving that do not have a pile. Kelims, soumacs, palas, dhurries, Verneh and Zileh all come into this category.
Kelims are the simplest and most common type of flat weave and they are made in most of the areas that weave pile rugs and carpets.
Kelim weave is a weft faced fabric where the design is made up of the coloured wefts which completely cover the warp threads. As the kelim is being woven a slit is often left between one colour and the adjacent colour and if these slits become too long they will make the fabric less viable. For this reason the weaver tends not to use patterns with a lot of vertical lines between the colours and instead uses diagonal lines or stepped lines, thus keeping the slits between the colours short and the structure of the kelim stronger.