The chunky loop-pile cream carpet I planned to lay in my sitting room only comes in a 4m width, and the room is only 4cm wider than that. As the shortfall is so small, I was wondering if the carpet could be stretched to fit, or what other options you might suggest?

Loop-pile carpet is usually tufted, not woven, and has a secondary backing of jute. Jute is very dimensionally stable, so if the carpet is over-stretched, the backing is likely to rupture. You might get away with power-stretching the carpet if it was only 1cm too narrow, but even then it might jump free of the gripper rods and retract. You could select a similar carpet that is 5m wide and accept the wastage. Look at Cavailer Carpets and Ulster Carpets who both do cream carpets in this width. Or, you could try Ryalux, who have carpets that can be ordered in any width up to 5m, in 1cm increments, avoiding any wastage.

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