Explore Fiber is a collaborative website showcasing and exploring fiber as a fine art material.
This short video shows the process of spinning, dyeing and weaving wool to make a Navajo rug. One of my art educator colleagues is a tapestry weaver, a process I have great respect for. I shared some of the wool I had with her last week for future projects. Navajo rugs are created using a tapestry structure, with some additional attention to details. When I was a young weaver, I took a course on weaving on a traditional Navajo loom. Although I didn’t continue down that weaving path, I have deeper appreciation for the process since I tried it for myself. One of the special details of a Navajo rug is the way they set up the loom an start their weaving to create 4 woven selvedges, eliminating the need to needle weave warp ends back into the weft faced woven structure. Navajo rugs are so elegant and so beautiful, and have a really interesting history. There are many paths and traditions a modern weaver can explore and try on to find the type of weaving they love the most. Find out more about these beautiful rugs!
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