I loved going back to Bhutan with a decent amount of savings this time, meaning I could buy some of the high quality pieces I had only been able to collect as photos in 2011.

These beautifully finished silk-on-silk kushutara are real investments, and I was delighted to be able to purchase them directly from weavers who had welcomed me in 2011. Visitors coming to Bhutan as tourists have limited opportunities to purchase directly from locals & artisans, so I was very happy to give the members of my tour group the opportunity to purchase locally.

This kira is silk on telicotton (polyester), but is an effective design & good finishing.

This bag was purchased directly from a yak-herder in Phobjika valley. When we stopped to photograph her tent & yaks, she seized the opportunity to bring her bag of woven goodies up to the road. The strap is acrylic warp and yak-hair weft, and the bag looks to be made from a recycled changsi pankhep (lap cloth).

This piece must be an old-style kera, or belt. It is double-faced (complementary weave) and although it appears to be bura (raw silk) on cotton, it feels like cotton on cotton. I’ve yet to test the yarns.

This bag is nettle fibre, patched on one side. Some of the supplementary weft designs appear to be acrylic (the brighter ones).

And finally, an unworn piece of hor (supplementary warp patterning), in lungserma colours in raw silk, with bands of jadrima (rainbow stripes) and a lovely deep saffron colour to the ground warp.

You can see my 2011 purchases on my post Bhutanese purchases so far https://textiletrails.com.au/2011/10/18/bhutanese-purchases-so-far/