What defines ‘good weaving’? In this limited context, it’s basically size of thread, number of colors, and complexity of design.
I buy textiles primarily to use in jewelry, book art pieces, costumes, or wall hangings. I’m finding more and more textiles that *are too good to cut up*. Shame on you, collectors. I should not be having to find homes for things that your clueless heirs can’t donate to museums!
First are two lovely geometric handwoven Bolivian wool ribbons (3/8″x 9 feet) from Etsy seller Shamanfashionista.
The red, black, and periwinkle blue ribbon has two sides, equally pretty.
The cream, red, and black ribbon has a simple patterned weave.
These are perfect for jewelry use or edging on garments. They’re about 1/8″ thick, so they won’t add too much bulk.
The next piece is a 1×29″ length of maroon & cream cotton or other plant fiber ribbon, very crisp and flat, so well woven both sides are intricate. It is probably Guatemalan, from a semi-destroyed leather & fabric belt (Goodwill, $2.49). It has a design of owls, snakes, geometric lozenges, human figures, and geometric borders.
Objectively, this ribbon is a step up from the first wool pieces. The threads and weave are finer, the designs more complex.
The last ribbon is also Bolivian wool, vintage from the 1980s or before (I purchased it from a thrift store along with similar straps in 1991).
This 1×40″ piece is double-sided with multiple colors, a complex floral repeating pattern, and incredible tightness of weave. The fabric is over an eighth of an inch thick, slightly stiff just from the dense double weave. I’ve shown the red front, cream back, and the braided terminus to detail the brown, pink, maroon, olive, gold, and black accent threads.
It has some slight damage, so I keep it carefully wrapped against bugs & moisture.
I’d love to make it into jewelry as I did with its sister ribbon from ‘Enlightenment’ but I suspect this one could be a museum piece.
Here’s something else I did with one of the other wool ribbons from that 1991 haul: the 1995 wall hanging ‘Quetzalcoatl’ embroidered on red linen with beads and a wool ribbon border.
I’m building a supply of gorgeous handwoven & embroidered fabrics, because I have several big projects coming up 2022/2023 that will use them, including a book art piece inspired by this fantasy poet/author.