wool

Raquel and Gregor let their Peruvian heritage of wondrous textile creations guide them to craft a sophisticated complement for the season. Baby alpaca, cotton and rayon threads unite in a palette of golden, black and ivory colors to form this exquisite shawl, boasting a classic pattern and fringes—ideal for showcasing your glorious grace.

Pale pastel shades of green and blue color this shawl with timeless elegance. Different teams of artisans within K'amolon K'i K'ojonel are involved in the creation of this rayon made from bamboo fiber shawl, from those who dye the yarn, to those who spin it, to those who weave it on a backstrap loom. And everyone is working from home, keeping a millenary textile tradition alive.

Women of the Guatemalan textile arts cooperativeK’amolon K’i K’ojonel (meaning “let’s get together”)collaborate on this elegant shawl. From the women whodye the bamboo rayon fibers, to those who spin theminto silky threads, to those who weave it on a backstrap loom, each step is done by hand at home.

The soft cozy warmth of bamboo chenille is transformed into a shawl of bold elegance in several shades of red, brown, lilac and fuchsia. Different teams of artisans within K'amolon K'i K'ojonel are involved in the creation of this rayon chenille shawl made from bamboo, from those who dye the yarn, to those who spin it, to those who weave it on a backstrap loom. And everyone is working from home, keeping a millenary textile tradition alive.

The intricate texture in this handsome kente cloth shawl is inspired by beach pebbles. Designed by a fisherman around 1898, its name means "pebbles of the shore are hard to crack." The tiny blocks of pattern represent the thoughts of that ancestral craftsman. Handcrafted by the Gobah Tengey-Seddoh Family, this extraordinary double weave textile is one of the most difficult patterns to achieve. These expert weavers use traditional looms and a cotton blend.

Each strip requires considerable effort, and the looms are worked with both hands and feet. Strips are generally three to four inches wide and seven to ten feet long, and the length of time it takes to complete one strip varies by the complexity of the chosen pattern. The simplest use mostly vertical, or warp patterns, and an experienced weaver can make several of those in one day. But patterns with nearly all weft (horizontal thread) patterns, where the warp design is hardly visible, can take up to four days to complete an individual strip. Each color has its own meanings in Asante culture. Green is fertility and new harvest, gold is royalty, black is strength, aging, and spirituality, while white is purity. The patterns themselves are carefully chosen symbols, which a master weaver develops and names, often to honor people, historical events, or proverbs.