Third Step
Weaving
It’s the first step to start the knitng work, and one of the most complex since it has a direct impact on the good quality of the final fabric. First, the yarns are selected to be warped, combining and ordering them according to the type of garment and design that the artisan wants to create. The yarns are arranged in even numbers, maintaining a balanced tension that prevents the fibers from breaking and seeking a harmonious distribution of color. This process is carried out with special warpers for pedal looms made by local artisans and that serve as a support for the yarns. The aymara arisans weave the wool that will be transferred to the loom. With the Spanish conquest, the pedal loom developed in Europe since 1000 was introduced throughout the Altiplano. Currently 2 and 4 pedals are used (also manufactured by local artisans), and although at first they were used only by men, today it is mainly women who use them.
Woof
It’s the final stage of the weaving process, and corresponds to the crossing -with a wooden weaving shuttle- of a horizontal yarn to the warp. Depending on how the yarns have been passed through the needles of the loom (in warping), and the movement that the artisan makes of the pedals when weaving, the different designs are obtained: smooth, cordellate or spine, to name a few.