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Here are a few of the many textiles found in our collections. To learn more about a highlighted term, move your mouse over the word(s) and the definition will display. If you are using an older web browser or Internet Explorer for Macintosh computers, click on the highlighted link and you will be taken to the Glossary of Weaving Terms.
The Spaniards brought Andalusian churroA soft, long, lustrous wool with little grease or crimp, easy to work by hand. The churro breed of sheep was originally brought from Andalusia to the Southwest by the Spanish in 1598. This wool appears most frequently in blankets made before the 1880s. sheep, indigo dyeA blue dye, ranging from almost blue-black to pale blue, made from several plants of the genus Indigofera. Generally, semiprocessed indigo was imported into the Southwest from Mexico in "lump" form and used by Pueblo, Navajo, and Hispanic weavers to dye their own handspun yarns., and the horizontal-bed treadle loom to the Americas. With this European loom, they could produce textiles of nearly unlimited length. Spanish Colonial designs were mainly stripesA design element that extends across a textile in the direction of its warps and parallel to its side selvages; opposed to a band, which is oriented horizontally, following the direction of the wefts. and center-dominant diamond motifs borrowed from the weavings of SaltilloAn elaborate blanket style of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, named for the city of Saltillo, Coahuila, in northwestern Mexico. Important features include serrate patterns, concentric diamonds, center-dominant designs, and vertical background schemes. These elements were adopted by Spanish Colonial weavers of New Mexico and further copied or modified by Navajo weavers after 1870., a weaving center in Mexico.
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This Spanish Colonial blanket is made of handspun woolUsually a yarn of native manufacture, spun on a shaft-and-whorl hand spindle or on a hand- or treadle-operated spinning wheel. In contrast to industrial machine-spun yarns, which are designated as commercial. , and was probably woven between 1875 and 1885. Like other Spanish Colonial weavings, the ends of the warpsThe parallel yarns that are strung on a loom and form the foundation onto which the weft yarns are woven. are not tied off. The eight pointed star motif, called a Vallero starAn eight pointed star motif often depicted in several alternating colors. Named for the Rio Grande Valley from which many Spanish Colonial blankets using this motif came, although Navajo and other weavers use it too. It is presumed by some to be derived originally from a pattern frequently seen in early American patchwork quilts., is thought to have been derived from early American patchwork quilts. The Vallero starAn eight pointed star motif often depicted in several alternating colors. Named for the Rio Grande Valley from which many Spanish Colonial blankets using this motif came, although Navajo and other weavers use it too. It is presumed by some to be derived originally from a pattern frequently seen in early American patchwork quilts. is found in both Spanish Colonial and Navajo textiles. The color scheme of this blanket was especially popular in Spanish Colonial households.
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Designs in Navajo textiles from the Classic Period (1700-1860)This "traditional" phase is known for fine blankets, mantas, and other garments, woven for Navajo use and intertribal trade. Terraced tapestry patterns on dresses and blankets evolved from simple, right-angled basketry designs. The sarape-style blankets of the period are characterized by intense, densely integrated design schemes of terraced geometric elements, using a limited number of colors (natural white and brown, indigo blue, and raveled insect-dyed red). are similar to designs found in Navajo basketry, such as terraced (stepped)Design elements that often form rectilinear diagonals, as in terraced triangles, diamonds, and zigzags. triangles and diamonds. Navajo textiles were most often made with handspun woolUsually a yarn of native manufacture, spun on a shaft-and-whorl hand spindle or on a hand- or treadle-operated spinning wheel. In contrast to industrial machine-spun yarns, which are designated as commercial. from the churroA soft, long, lustrous wool with little grease or crimp, easy to work by hand. The churro breed of sheep was originally brought from Andalusia to the Southwest by the Spanish in 1598. This wool appears most frequently in blankets made before the 1880s. sheep that had been introduced into the Southwest by the Spaniards and yarn from raveled cloth called bayetaA generic term for several types of trade cloth which was commonly raveled and reused as weft in nineteenth century Navajo and some other textiles The term is Spanish, the English word being baize, but fabrics from Spain, England, elsewhere in Europe, the Near East, Mexico, New Mexico, and New England were obtained and raveled by the Navajos. Usually dyed red with cochineal, lac, a combination of the two, or with aniline dyes, but other natural and synthetic colors have also been reported.. They used an adaptation of the upright Pueblo loom.
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Navajos use the term DiyugiNavajo word meaning "soft, fluffy blanket" at the turn of the century; used by historians for the coarse, handspun wearing blankets of everyday quality, generally longer than wide, with simple patterns and coloration. Currently used by Navajos as a generic term for any handwoven rug. to refer to any hand-woven textiles, while art historians use this word to refer to wearing blankets made of handspun woolUsually a yarn of native manufacture, spun on a shaft-and-whorl hand spindle or on a hand- or treadle-operated spinning wheel. In contrast to industrial machine-spun yarns, which are designated as commercial.. This DiyugiNavajo word meaning "soft, fluffy blanket" at the turn of the century; used by historians for the coarse, handspun wearing blankets of everyday quality, generally longer than wide, with simple patterns and coloration. Currently used by Navajos as a generic term for any handwoven rug. is both hand-woven and made of handspun churro woolA soft, long, lustrous wool with little grease or crimp, easy to work by hand. The churro breed of sheep was originally brought from Andalusia to the Southwest by the Spanish in 1598. This wool appears most frequently in blankets made before the 1880s. that was dyed with commercial aniline dyesA family of synthetic dyes of many colors, originally made from a coal-tar derivative called aniline. Anilines were first synthesized commercially in 1856. The earliest known aniline-dyed yarns in Navajo textiles date to 1863 and were raveled from commercial cloth. Anilines were applied to commercial machine-spun yarns that became readily available in the Southwest during the 1870s, and were sold in powdered form to be applied to Navajo handspun yarns by the 1880s. and with indigoA blue dye, ranging from almost blue-black to pale blue, made from several plants of the genus Indigofera. Generally, semiprocessed indigo was imported into the Southwest from Mexico in "lump" form and used by Pueblo, Navajo, and Hispanic weavers to dye their own handspun yarns.. ChurroA soft, long, lustrous wool with little grease or crimp, easy to work by hand. The churro breed of sheep was originally brought from Andalusia to the Southwest by the Spanish in 1598. This wool appears most frequently in blankets made before the 1880s. is the name of the breed of sheep first introduced into the Southwest by Spanish colonists. The unusual wedgeweave(eccentric weave) An unusual weave found in some blankets of the late nineteenth century in which wefts are placed at oblique rather than right angles to the warp to form a series of diagonal, zigzag or diamond patterns. Because the warp yarns are generally forced out of their normal vertical position, the edges of the blanket become scalloped. Also called a "pulled warp weave.", that gives the blanket its zigzag lines, was the result of a technique in which warp yarnsThe parallel yarns that are strung on a loom and form the foundation onto which the weft yarns are woven. are pulled at oblique angles to the weftsThe yarns that are interlaced with, that is, woven over and under the warp yarns; the warp and weft yarns are usually placed at right angles to each other.. Examples of this weave were produced only from about 1875 to 1890.
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Prehispanic Pueblo weavers used, primarily, the fibers of native plants, such as cotton and yucca. They used two types of upright looms; one for sashes and belts, and one for larger fabrics. Spanish colonists introduced domestic sheep and indigo dyeA blue dye, ranging from almost blue-black to pale blue, made from several plants of the genus Indigofera. Generally, semiprocessed indigo was imported into the Southwest from Mexico in "lump" form and used by Pueblo, Navajo, and Hispanic weavers to dye their own handspun yarns.. Although Pueblo peoples incorporated wool and indigo dyesA blue dye, ranging from almost blue-black to pale blue, made from several plants of the genus Indigofera. Generally, semiprocessed indigo was imported into the Southwest from Mexico in "lump" form and used by Pueblo, Navajo, and Hispanic weavers to dye their own handspun yarns. in their weaving, cotton remained in use for traditional garments.
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For centuries before Europeans entered the Americans, Ancestral Pueblo weavers used fibers of native plants, such as cotton, yucca and Indian hemp; rabbit and dog fur, and human hair, in their weavings. Later, Pueblo peoples adopted the use of domestic sheep wool and indigo dyesA blue dye, ranging from almost blue-black to pale blue, made from several plants of the genus Indigofera. Generally, semiprocessed indigo was imported into the Southwest from Mexico in "lump" form and used by Pueblo, Navajo, and Hispanic weavers to dye their own handspun yarns. from the Spaniards, although they continue to use cotton for traditional garments. This blanket, from Zuni Pueblo, is made of both handspunUsually a yarn of native manufacture, spun on a shaft-and-whorl hand spindle or on a hand- or treadle-operated spinning wheel. In contrast to industrial machine-spun yarns, which are designated as commercial. and raveled woolYarn obtained by unweaving a fabric by separating the warps and wefts. These yarns can then be rewoven directly into another fabric, or can be carded and respun to form entirely different yarns. See also bayeta.. The colors were made in a variety of ways. The blues are indigoA blue dye, ranging from almost blue-black to pale blue, made from several plants of the genus Indigofera. Generally, semiprocessed indigo was imported into the Southwest from Mexico in "lump" form and used by Pueblo, Navajo, and Hispanic weavers to dye their own handspun yarns.. The white, grays and browns are natural wool colorsThe color of undyed, untreated wool, cotton, or other textile fibers., and the orange and pink are probably anilineA family of synthetic dyes of many colors, originally made from a coal-tar derivative called aniline. Anilines were first synthesized commercially in 1856. The earliest known aniline-dyed yarns in Navajo textiles date to 1863 and were raveled from commercial cloth. Anilines were applied to commercial machine-spun yarns that became readily available in the Southwest during the 1870s, and were sold in powdered form to be applied to Navajo handspun yarns by the 1880s., commercial synthetic, dyes. The design of simple horizontal stripes, called a Moki pattern(also spelled Moqui) A design of alternating black (or brown) and dark blue bands used alone or interspersed with white and/or red bands, sometimes with a superimposed design of diamonds and other geometric motifs. The term Moki derives from the Spanish name for the Hopi Indians. The Hopi rarely made blankets patterned with this type of design, although Navajo and Spanish Colonial weavers commonly employ it., after the Spanish name for Hopi, was popular among the Pueblo Indians. This blanket was probably made between 1870 and 1890.
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