Master spinners and weavers carry on a handcraft tradition
Dyeing
The weavers dye the wool in big cast iron pots over a wood fire. They add powdered dye to boiling water and then stir in a fixing agent before adding skeins of wool to the pot; the number of skeins thrown into the dye determines the depth of the color. As a master dyer, Gertrude Mbetsi ensures the consistency of colors required, especially for very large carpet weaving projects.
The weaver creates small balls of dyed wool, like colorful butterflies, which are easier to manage at the loom. For each project, the weaver must warp the loom by creating a plane of cotton threads held in an even tension by the loom’s wooden frame. This is the base scrim through which the weavers draw their colored yarns to create a woven fabric. In tapestry weaving, the white cotton warp is completely covered by the spun wool, allowing for infinite design possibilities. This is the technique used by traditional Navajo weavers in the American southwest.
