1. Shearing the sheep & alpacas 

The process starts with shearing the natural fibre. All of our textiles are woven with 100% pure wool from either sheep, Llama or alpaca. Many of our artisans own sheep or alpacas or trade with their neighbours.  See here which fibre to choose.  

2. Washing the wool

Once the fibre is sheared it’s now time for washing. The wool is washed with warm water. Depending on the time of year some wool is permanently dyed from paint in festivals. 

3. Sorting the wool

Depending on the scale of shearing the wool will need to be sorted into coarseness & colour, removing any debris from the wool during this process. 

4. Hand spinning the yarn

The yarn is hand spun on traditional drop spindles. Spinning works by twisting the yarn to make wool. The artisan can make any thickness from chunky wool to fine thread, the type of fibre also affects the different outcomes. Artisans often re-spin wool over and over to create a finer thread.

5. Dying

The fun part! The dyes are made of natural ingredients including plants, herbs, flowers and vegetables. These ingredients are all regional and vary depending on the area and traditional creative makeup. The mixture is boiled in a pot and the wool is left to soak up the dye before it is left to dry in the sun. No one colour is the same & different tones can be created for different desired outcomes. Find out more on dying here.

6. Making the loom

Each artisan has a loom which is homemade & personalised for them depending on their preference and size. Looms are made from wood, the size of the loom is what determines the width of the textile. Looms are treasured and kept for many years by the artisans.

7. Weaving

Let the weaving commence! There are numerous techniques weavers use to create different textiles, these techniques vary from region and even differ between families with patterns and colours being able to identify where a weaver is from. A rug can take anytime from three weeks to two months to create depending on detail, how fine the fibre is and the intricacy of the design. Weaving is a way an artisan can express emotions, tell stories and share future dreams.

You can see the finished products here from our Pacha Collection!