Navajo people have lived in North America for thousands of years.
They were famous for their weaving.
They wove beautiful rugs from wool they spun.
The wool came from the coloured sheep they raised.
Some artists still make rugs by hand like they were always made.
The Navajo Nation
The largest First Nations group of the USA is the Navajo people (say nah-vuh-hoe), whose name for their tribe is Diné (say dee-neh), which means ‘the people’. The Navajo Nation is an area of 71, 000 square km that includes part of the states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. It is governed by the Navajo themselves, through an elected Council, within the laws of the USA.
One use for woven blankets was as a wrap for warmth. ©Getty Images
Some Navajo blankets.image©kidcyber
The Navajo, like other First Nation peoples, wove rugs and blankets that were part of their clothing, worn as a warm wrap. The rugs had many uses in everyday life, as blankets, door curtains and floor rugs. There are different styles of rug patterns, according to the area they come from, and the period of time they were made.
Today rugs are still made in the traditional way, although by fewer and fewer weavers, and large rugs command high prices.
The ancient Navajo belief is that when the world was created, one of the Creators was Spider Woman, who taught them how to spin and weave, and even today weavers always give thanks to her for that gift. In some rugs made in the famous Two Grey Hills area, the last line of the pattern is left uncoloured and goes to the outer edge: this is to return the gift to Spider Woman so she will keep it safe and then return it to the weaver when the next rug is ready to be started.
Churro sheep ©Getty Images
Navajo herd churro sheep, which have long-haired fleece in a range of colours from white through many shades of brown to grey and black.
After being sheared, usually by hand clippers, the fleece is washed, and this is something the whole community does together. First the matted, dirty edges of the fleece are cut off and set aside for being made into felt. The fleeces are washed with natural soap made from the pounded roots of yucca plants and are then spread to dry in the sun.
Shearing by hand. ©Getty Images
The next step is to card the wool. One chunk at a time, the fleece is combed between two wire-toothed brushes that are rather like dog grooming brushes, except they are larger with curved backs. This smoothes out the fleece, bringing the fibres together evenly.
The carded wool is flipped off the brushes in a smooth, light roll called a rolag. The fibres pull easily out of the rolag during spinning. Different coloured fleece can be combined to make a different colour by carding them together.
Fleece ready for carding. ©Getty Images
Carding the fleece ©Getty Images
A spindle (also called a drop spindle) is an ancient form of spinning wool into yarn. ©Getty Images
The wool must be spun into yarn, and the Navajo do not use a spinning wheel, but rather the older, traditional spindle. It takes a lot of practice to be able to spin a fine, even thread that has no lumps. The spindle is weighted at the bottom, and the spun yarn is gradually wound onto the stick until it is full.
Spun, dyed yarn being made into a skein. ©Getty Images
To store the yarn so that it doesn't get into knots, it is often made into big loops called skeins (say skanes). Each big loop is then twisted. Sometimes the spun yarn is rolled into balls. The skeins can be dyed, using any of a number of plants that grow wild. The skeins and balls are easily stored, sorted into colours. Sometimes wool is spun again to twist two threads of yarn together to make thicker yarn or to make a two-colour effect. Spun yarn is then ready for weaving (or knitting).
Plant, or natural, dyed yarns ©Getty Images
A small Navajo loom ©Getty Images
The loom is threaded with yarn, usually white. These are the warp (say wore-p) threads. Navajo looms are upright, but there are many different kinds and sizes of looms used by other cultures. Whatever the loom, weaving must have warp threads as the base. The wool that is woven in and out of the warp threads are the weft threads. Together, warp and weft make a fabric.
A stick called a heddle or baton is threaded in and out of the warp threads. When turned on its side it opens a space for the weft to be threaded through, and then pushed down to the row below.
A little Navajo girl sitting at her mother's loom. This loom is outside a traditional Navajo home called a hogan, and there is another one in the background. However, most Navajo live in modern houses. ©Getty Images
It’s a good idea to get information from more than one source!
Watch a video of a Navajo woman carding wool and spinning it using a traditional spindle
Make your own spindle using old CDs (or use a potato!):
http://www.instructables.com/id/Drop-Spindle-Constrution/
Try some weaving projects, perhaps using wool you have spun!
https://theeducatorsspinonit.com/weaving-projects-for-kids/