Weaver in Luang Prabang Creating a Pattern on the Loom

I was talking with Bai and the weaver in this video is actually in the act of creating the pattern for the textile she's weaving. If someone is really interested in understanding the technical aspects of the weaving process Carol Cassidy's catalog/book "Weaving Tradition: Carol Cassidy and Woven Silks of Laos" has great illustrations and photos of the loom and the complete weaving process. On pg 51 she writes, "Thin bamboo rods or, more recently, nylon threads are interlaced into a framework of vertical threads to establish the master template. Working out the designs, some of which require hundreds of rods, is a slow and painstaking process involving great skill and patience. A master weaver may compose the pattern as she goes, or she may transfer a design from an earlier texttle. The time needed to create a pattern depends on its complexity and on the skill of the weaver. A simple design may take a day to create, while a highly complex design may take months... A flat bamboo stick is used to create the shed of each line of weft pattern."

And that's exactly what you see in this video. The weaver is "picking" the design with the flat bamboo stick.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Laos
• weaving
• Luang Prabang
• Lao textiles

[unknownvariable1]

Talk about commitment to learning an art. Great work.

[Kathleenm18]

any chance of me having one so i can so this at all

[srymer36]

I can't believe no one has commented on this nice video. I would like to say that the lady doing the weaving is doing a very nice job and I like the pattern a lot.