Huipil, the artwork in everyday use

Women from Chiampas region of Mexico wearing huipils, photo courtesy PWRDF

Some time ago I visited an exibition of Mexican textiles from the Chiapas region of the country and I was striked by the beauty of huipil - the traditional dress of the Mayan women - as well as by their skills in embroidery. To think about it: a rectangle of cotton with an opening for the head...what can be simplier? This design has been popular in different cultures for centuries . But add some love, creativity and skills to this simple practical piece of clothing and it turns into a work of art.

Kente, Royal Cloth of the Ashanti

Kente inspired dress by Victoria Pettersson Henry source

Some time ago I wrote a post dedicated to the spectacular gold ornaments of the Ashanti (Asante). But besides their gold the Ashanti are famous as creators of one of the most spectacular elite dress in all of Africa. I am talking about kente. Kente is a large cloth about two by four meters for men and one by two meters for women made up of 16 to 24 long and narrow (3-5 inches wide) loom-woven strips sewn together. According to legend the first weaver learnt his skill by studying the way in which a spider - a symbol of treachery and wisdom in Ashanti folklore - spun its web.

Not just a baby carrier

photo source

The women of many Dayak  tribes weave glass beads into fascinating patterns that are used to decorate the unusual baby baskets that are sometimes the most valuable piece of property that a family possesses.
This type of baby basket is called ba. Mothers use them to carry their babies around on their backs from their birth and until they are two years old. The framework for the basket is usually made of rattan, which is then decorated with a complex fabric of beads.

Traditional embroidery of the republics of Central Asia

Embroidered wall hanging, Shakrisyabz, Uzbekistan, 19th century. Cotton, with chain-stitch embroidery in silk and red wool, trimmed with djiyak braid. Design Museum, Helsinki 

Embroidery is an important cultural tradition in Central Asia. Literally everything is decorated with embroidery  - wall hangings, curtains, cushions-covers, bed-covers, bags, animal trappings, women's headdresses and tunics, trousers and boots. A guest may be offered a piece of embroidery as a token of friendship or as a good luck talisman for the journey.
All types of thread are used for embroidery: metal, wool, cotton, silk. The most common stitches are couching, buttonhole and chain stitch, herringbone. Usually one type of stitch dominates the embroidery of a particular ethnic group. For example, a lacing stitch is much used by the Turkmen tribes, satin stitch characterizes the Kohistan embroidery, and Uzbek and Hazara embroiderers use various types of cross stitch.

Ainu people costume and jewelry

Ainu wearing their traditional costume, photo courtesy  Roderick Eime

Have you ever heard about Ainu? Well, in case you haven't, they are indigenous people of Japan who used to live all over its territory in ancient times but not much of them are left now and nowadays they live mainly on Japanese Hokkaido and the Kuriles and southern Sakhalin Island of Russia. I decided to dedicate a post to this small ethnic group because the main element of their traditional costume, a robe worn by women and men alike, is considered one of the most unique and distinctive pieces of clothing in the world of ethnic dress. First, interesting were materials which Ainu originally used to create these robes: they could be made of plant fiber - bark of elm trees, for example; of animal fur/skin - dog's, bear's, seal's; of bird skin and feathers and even...of fish skin. Can you imagine a wearable robe made from fish skin? Honestly, I can't. But it turns out that garments made of fish skin are strong, light, durable and waterproof. Amazing, isn't it? It seems Ainu used all the nature resources available. Of course, nowadays nobody makes clothes from such unusual "fabrics" any more, with time cotton and silk started to be used, though traditional "bark" robes are still can be found.

Horsetail hair embroidery, the unique craft of the Sui people of China

Horsetail hair embroidery, source

Every ethnic group of China has its own unique way of designing and adorning their costumes and textiles. An ethnic minority of the Sui (Shui) counts just about 400 thousand people. For centuries a special traditional type of embroidery has been kept alive by the Sui women. This unique kind of embroidery uses horsetail hair for the needlework.

Jamawar, the woven jewel of Kashmiri shawls

pashmina jamawar source

Who hasn't heard of Kashmiri shawls? They are world famous for their exquisite softness of material and beauty of design and colour. Of all the types of Kashmiri shawls the most complex, most beautiful and most expensive is the jamawar shawl which is often referred as "woven jewel". Jamawar has always been associated with fine taste, luxury and grandeur and have been passed on as heirlooms in many of India's old families. These shawls were originally worn by noble men in India and Persia. They used to be gifted by rulers to favoured diplomats, or courtiers in gratitude for services, successes, or loyalty. Jamawars woven by Sufis were used for prayers, as table-clothes and spreads during religious festivals.

Dudou, the artistic underwear of medieval China

"Red Underwear", a painting by Liushi Zong  source

What do you think the young lady on the painting above is wearing? As the painting's title suggests it is an underwear. But what kind of? Actually it is a dudou. The garment with such unusually-sounding name has a long history. It was invented by the Chinese somewhen in the 17th century with the sole practical purpose to keep the chest and stomach area warm. It is just a square or rhomboidal piece of cloth with attached straps that were tied around the neck and at the back. The dudou often has a pocket where ginger, musk or other medicinal herbs believed to keep the belly warm were put. It was worn by children, women and men alike to prevent not only cold but, according to some sources, diarrhea as well.

Sluck (Slutsk) sashes

Double-sided sash, Sluck, 1778-1807, silk weaving. Photo source

Being a bit nostalgic about the days I spent in Belarus recently I decided to write about something Belurusian. And there can not be a better choice than Sluck sashes , real treasure of Belarusian culture. This type of handwork was produced in Belarus (then Rzeczpospolita) in the second half of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Sluck sashes were named after the city of Slutsk (Minsk region), where they were first produced in 18th century to replace expensive imported sashes from the Orient. Such sashes from Ottoman Empire, Persia, Iran and China were very popular among the nobles of the time and served not only as a decorative element of the costume but as a symbol of high social status and wealth as well.

Traditional Nepalese Dhaka fabric

The groom on this photo can be easily identified as being a Nepali. How? Thanks to the unique pattern of the fabric his costume is made of. This handwoven fabric is called Dhaka. It is still quite popular here, one can see women wearing Dhaka blouses and shawls; men like to cover their heads with traditional hat topi made of Dhaka fabric; grooms from the Chhetri community often wear traditional costumes in Dhaka patterns on the wedding day; for Newari people Dhaka clothes are required for performing funeral rites.

Sari forever

For some official events here in Nepal wearing a sari is a must for all the invited women including foreigners. I love sari, it is such a feminine, elegant and undoubtedly beautiful variant of traditional Indian dress. Literally speaking the sari is just a piece of fabric of about 4-8 m long and about 120 cm wide. And it is amazing that by draping it around the body it can be transformed into such a beautiful item of women's clothing. Of course, draping a sari requires experience and skills. And that is exactly what I lack. Theoretically I know how to drape it but practically it just doesn't work that smoothly and I have to re-drape it again and again. As a result draping a sari takes so much time for me. And I get tired and often annoyed in the process. But the final look is worth all the effort I guess.

Modern life of traditional Indian textiles

Madras checks dress by Aneeth Arora

India has tremendously rich and varied textile traditions. Every technique has been practiced for centuries, with an instinctive sense of proportion, colour and harmony. Each of India’s states - and many of the villages within those states - has its own distinct designs and techniques with an instinctive sense of proportion, colour and harmony. These fabrics have been used for ethnic clothes for centuries but recently contemporary designers (and not only Indian) have shown interest in traditional textiles too and started using them in their creations. And now these vintage weaves fused with modern designs found their way on podiums and in fashionable boutiques. Here are a few examples.

Orenburg fluffy shawl

Orenburg fluffy shawl is one of the symbols of Russia. This hand-knitted fine beautiful garment is so loved in the country that there is even a song dedicated to it.

Tonight, when there's frost and there's blizzard

When the snow storm is roaming the road

Will you cover my shoulders, sweet darling,

With an Orenburg downy shawl.

In its present form the Orenburg knitting industry was started up by the Cossacks about 250 years ago, in the second half of the 18th century, joining together two older crafts. One of the predecessors of the fluffy shawl with its cobweb pattern was the thermal Kalmyk or Cossack shawl, which was worn under light clothing in fierce frosts, and knitted in plain stitch from the softest goat's fleece. The other was the fine lace shawls made by Ural Cossack women.

Zardozi, the ancient art of metal embroidery

photo source

If you have ever seen an Indian bride wearing a traditional wedding outfit, you couldn't help noticing the elaborate embroidery that her dress was richly decorated with. It is the famous zardozi style. This ancient art has been mentioned as far back as the Rigveda, where it has been described as the attire of gods. It used to be a privilege enjoyed only by aristocrats and royalty. Maharajahs wore ceremonial cloths decorated with zardozi; elaborate panels were hung on their walls and for ceremonial processions their elephants and horses were adorned with zardozi spreads and saddles.

Pashmina shawls, a versatile accessory for colder days

It's getting colder and it's the right time for pashmina shawls. They are always in fashion, they are warm and soft and there is such a big variety of different colours, ornamentation, blends and sizes to satisfy any taste.
So, what exactly is pashmina? Pashmina is a word derived from Persian "Pashm" which means "finest wool fiber". Pashmina is made from the wool of the Himalayan Mountain goat, locally known as Chyangra ( Capra Hircus). This goat is generally found between altitudes of twelve thousand to fourteen thousand feet above sea level, in the mountains of Nepal, India and Pakistan. These goats develop a thin inner coat in winter which they shed during spring. Each hair is twelve to fourteen microns thick which is about one-sixth of the human hair. This unique inner coat of hair serves as material for pashmina.