Ethnic Weaving and Textiles

Ethnic Textiles

Atayal
Kathleen Forance Johnson tells of her experiences with the Atayal weavers of Taiwan.

Cedar Bark Weaving
The cedar tree provided dye, clothing, and shelter to the First Nations peoples of the Pacific northwest.

Finnish Textiles
A gallery of traditional Finnish textiles.

Japanese Paper Weaving
The Japanese have perfected the art of weaving with paper, in the techniques of Shifu and Saga Nishiki.

Karelian Basketry
The making of Karelian birch baskets, naalbinding, felting and other traditional crafts were part of an EU project, Handiscola.

Karelian Weaving
Special weaving techniques from Karelia, Finland.

Looms
Looms have been used for centuries to create the cloth that we wear.

The Horse Song
A Navajo rug woven by Roy Kady.

Navajo Rugs
Navjo rugs are still being made today using traditonal methods.

Nepal Nettle Project
The London weavers guild visited Nepal and learned about weaving with nettle.

Persian Carpets
Some of the oldest known Persian carpets date back to the 7th Century.

Rya - A Brief History
A short history of the rya in Scandinavia.

The Doukhobors
The Doukhobors spun their own flax for their clothing.

The Guild of Canadian Weavers
The Guild of Canadian Weavers has done much to promote hand weaving in Canada.

The Japanese Kimono
From hemp to silk, the kimono has a long tradition in Japan.

V-Neck Shaping
I tried to shape a V-neck on the loom, based on a sample I found at the British Museum. Here's how

Verulamium
A visit to Verulamium to see ancient Roman spindles, artifacts and other archaeological textile finds.

Viking Textiles
Not all Viking textiles were "rough sack-cloth", rather they were influenced by the many cultures in which they traveled.

Weaving in Ireland
A quick visit to handweavers and mills in Ireland.

Saami Band Weaving
Patterns for weaving traditional Saami belts.

Salish Blankets
The Salish were known as the weavers of the Pacific northwest.

Woolly Dogs
Eflower describes her research into the wool dogs of First Nations people of the Pacific northwest.

Woven Coverlets
Woven coverlets were popular in the 19th Century.

Zapotec
During a visit to Mexico, I had the opportunity to learn about Z apotec weaving traditions.

A Yarn Tells a Story
A 3 metre piece of yarn tells of Norse explorations

Ethnic Weaving and Textiles **NEW"**

Looming Crisis for Handweaving
In the Phillippines handweaving has been a tradition that has been passed on through the generations. But local business leaders and village elders worry that handweavers are a vanishing breed, and are thus scrambling to find ways to revitalise the industry.

Sakiori
Although the text is Japanese, there are wonderful images of students learning to weave Sakiori (rag weaving).

Swedish Textile Art
Textile art of Scania is known for its small textile panels made for wedding ceremonies, using an interlocked tapestry technique known as r–lakan and dovetail tapestry known as flamskvav.

Textile Dictionary
Not sure what the word for hemp is in Italian? Check this on-line dictionary for English, German, French and Italian translations.

Rio Grande Weaving Tradition
The Anasazi people settled the Rio Grande area as early as 1300 A.D. They used 3 types of looms, backstrap, horizontal and ground looms for their unique style of textiles.

Turkish Carpets
This site presents an overview of Turkish carpets and kilims. How they are produced, history, functions and some of their regional differences.

Weaving in Japan
The textile town of Kiryu in Gunma Prefecture sought one of the world's most renowned textile artists, Sheila Hicks, to create a flat theater curtain, a doncho. Hicks utilized the diverse expertise of the kimono-weaving town in a collaborative effort. A century ago, every home had a loom and Japan is still a textile country producing a galaxy of weaves.

Acadian Textile Terms
A glossary of Acadian textile terms selected from the Acadian Handicraft Project Papers.

Collectors Guide to the Art of New Mexico
Mary Hunt Kahlenberg, a former museum curator, gives tips on collecting, displaying and cleaning textiles.

Elkus Indian Collection
Examples of woven and handspun Navajo rugs and blankets.

Essence of Chilkat Weaving
"The essence of Chilkat weaving is purity." A weaver is an interpreter who produces a gateway for later generations to access time. Chilkat robes represent a union of the forest, mountains and the cosmology the heart of the culture.

History and Definitions List
Definitions of some Persian carpet weaving terms, by a collector of oriental rugs.

Navajo Rug Care
Useful advice on caring for Navajo and other rugs.

Philippines Craft & Performance
Silk, pineapple and abaca (banana hemp) weavers from Mindanao and Panay demonstrate their skills at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Wrapped in Pride
A Kente cloth exhibit, from weaving the strips to making and wearing the Kente robes.

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Navajo Weaving Books

Blanket Weaving in the Southwest a masterful classification scheme for southwestern textiles�and a book that establishes an essential baseline for understanding craft production.

One Hundred Years of Navajo Rugs Designed for the general reader, museum goer, or collector, it offers a guide to identifying and dating rugs by means of weaving materials. Wool quality, the author explains, is the single most important clue to the date of a rug's manufacture. Rodee also provides historical background on the great Navajo weavers and especially on the traders who bought rugs from the Navajo.

Working With the Wool: How to Weave a Navajo Rug This book has systematic instructions on what materials are needed to build a loom from scratch, Then instructions on how to set it up, Then instructions on beginning weaving, Then how to design the Navaho way.

Tension and Harmony : The Navajo Rug (Plateau Magazine, Volume 52, Number 4)

Navajo Weaving Way Detailed charts and illustrations help the weaver find her way step-by-step through the making of a first sampler and through several more advanced techniques.

Weaving a Navajo Blanket This book conducts readers through the process, introducing the materials and methods of the Navajo style and commenting on history, patterns, symbolism, and other related matters.