To create a new pattern heddle storage system, the weaver begins with her loom warped with the warp threads passing through a pair of fixed heddles for the ground weave, and then behind that, each warp end passing through it’s own long vertical string heddle. Continue reading
To avoid having to pick up the required warp threads to create each row of a supplementary weft pattern, Lao-Tai weavers have devised several methods of storing these patterns on their loom. Continue reading
Lao-Tai weavers introduce patterns into their weaving in several ways, one of which is by inserting extra weft yarns after each pick of ground weave.
I recently encountered a Bhutanese kira that is unlike any other I have seen. The weaver has pushed the boundaries both literally and figuratively. Continue reading
I had plenty of opportunities to see all stages of warp preparation while I was at Ock Pop Tok for 2 months and during a couple of visits to Vientiane, Continue reading
I saw this impressive piece covered in sihos (mythical lion-elephant creatures) pregnant with double-headed nagas (protective river serpents) and carrying their young and a frogman (or perhaps an ancestor spirit) on their backs at Phaeng Mai Gallery in Vientiane. Continue reading
When I was volunteering at Ock Pop Tok in 2011-12, I used to sometimes take a break to visit Mon and watch her weave beaded patterns on her Katu backstrap loom. Continue reading
Near Kompong Cham, I visited several weavers in and near the village of Prae Chung Kran, where I had been told hol was being woven. Continue reading
After the touristy atmosphere around Inle Lake in Burma, I found it a delight to travel up to the Shan hills and stay a few days in the less-visited town of Namshan.
Luntaya acheik, the celebrated “100-shuttle” tapestry fabric from the Mandalay area of Burma, is woven with tiny shuttles with tapered ends that allow them to do double duty as pickup sticks. Continue reading
