A richly illustrated, bilingual book, this guide visits 20 villages in the Chiapas Highlands to showcase their stunning handwoven cloth while also providing an insider's look into their history, folklore, festivals, traditions, and daily lives. Ritual transvestites, Virgin statues draped with native blouses, tunics designed to look like howler monkey fur, and elaborately floral shawls and ponchos--these are just a few of the unforgettable images captured in the book. Also included are a pull-out map of the Chiapas Highlands and dates of special festivals and local markets.

Winner, Silver Medal in the Craft/Hobby Category, 2018 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Nilda Calla aupa Alvarez has gathered artisans of all ages to share their knowledge, lore, and deep skills, highlighting many of the techniques used by craftspeople in the Andes. They reveal clever highland secrets for everything from skeining yarn and knitting in reverse to weaving tubular borders and embellishing fabric with complex stitches. For many of these techniques, they provide concise step-by-step instructions accessible for North American crafters. Thoughtful, detailed descriptions of Andean cultural traditions frame each section, providing context and rare insight into what textile work means as a living heritage of the Quechua people.

Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez has gathered artisans of all ages to share their knowledge, lore, and deep skills, highlighting many of the techniques used by craftspeople in the Andes. They reveal clever highland secrets for everything from skeining yarn and knitting in reverse to weaving tubular borders and embellishing fabric with complex stitches. For many of these techniques, they provide concise step-by-step instructions accessible for North American crafters. Thoughtful, detailed descriptions of Andean cultural traditions frame each section, providing context and rare insight into what textile work means as a living heritage of the Quechua people.

The Quechua people of southern Peru are both agriculturalists and herders who maintain large herds of alpacas and llamas. But they are also weavers, and it is through weaving that their cultural traditions are passed down over the generations. Owing to the region's isolation, the textile symbols, forms of clothing, and technical processes remain strongly linked to the people's environment and their ancestors. Heckman's photographs convey the warmth and vitality of the Quechua people and illustrate how the land is intricately woven into their lives and their beliefs. Quechua weavers in the mountainous regions near Cuzco, Peru, produce certain textile forms and designs not found elsewhere in the Andes. Their textiles are a legacy of their Andean ancestors. Andrea Heckman has devoted more than twenty years to documenting and analyzing the ways Andean beliefs persist over time in visual symbols embedded in textiles and portrayed in rituals. Her primary focus is the area around the sacred peak of Ausangate, in southern Peru, some eighty-five miles southeast of the former Inca capital of Cuzco. The core of this book is an ethnographic account of the textiles and their place in daily life that considers how the form and content of Quechua patterns and designs pass stories down and preserve traditions as well as how the ritual use of textiles sustain a sense of community and a connection to the past. Heckman concludes by assessing the influences of the global economy on indigenous Quechua, who maintain their own worldview within the larger fabric of twentieth-century cultural values and hence have survived everything from Latin American militarism to a tidal wave of post-modern change.

In the world of the ancient Andes, textiles were often the most valuable commodity people possessed—far beyond gold and silver—and they were a major medium for conveying critical cultural meaning. Textiles of the Andes features a wealth of rare and exquisite pieces, many of great iconographic and technical importance, ranging in date from the Paracas to the Inca and Colonial periods, from 200 BC to the late 18th century. Examples of contemporary Andean textiles complement the early pieces and illustrate the continuity of weaving traditions in the Andes. • Detailed photos show each textile in full • Glossary of technical analysis for designers • Authoritative introduction by an expert in the field provides a context for appreciating and enjoying the superb and varied designs

Doubleweave is the art of weaving two layers of cloth at the same time, one above the other on the loom, creating beautiful cloth that is reversible yet unique on each side. Using pick-up techniques and clever color mixing, patterns emerge that are different but complementary on each side. The Weaver's Studio: Doubleweave begins with a brief history of doubleweave and how it has evolved into the contemporary weaving pieces seen today. Next, you will learn all the basics of doubleweave techniques, as well as tips and tricks of setting up the warp, and a variety of doubleweave specialty techniques all shown through detailed process photography and a wealth of swatches demonstrating different effects. Specialty techniques are shown for 4-shaft and 8-shaft looms. The weaving effects covered include lace, tubular weave, pick-up, color mixing, and more. And since doubleweave showcases color and pattern in unique ways, you will learn how to use these to great effect in your cloth designs. Throughout the book, you will find a wealth of inspiration with many examples of finished cloth and projects, from wall hangings and table runners to scarves and pillows.

A richly illustrated, bilingual book, this guide visits 20 villages in the Chiapas Highlands to showcase their stunning handwoven cloth while also providing an insider’s look into their history, folklore, festivals, traditions, and daily lives. Ritual transvestites, Virgin statues draped with native blouses, tunics designed to look like howler monkey fur, and elaborately floral shawls and ponchos—these are just a few of the unforgettable images captured in the book. Also included are a pull-out map of the Chiapas Highlands and dates of special festivals and local markets.