Karen Weaving at the Thai Tribal Crafts Fair Trade Co., Ltd

Weaving is not for sissies. It is physical and repetitive, yet requires constant alertness lest you mix up your steps. Today we wove a piece of cotton fabric from what I think is called a body loom. The width of your piece is based on the size of a tiny Asian body. The length is enormous...many meters.

We started by spooling our thread onto a stick used to carry the weft. The warp had already been built...meters of it! This determines the ultimate length of your finished product.

To use this loom you sit on the ground and must have a stop in front of your feet to keep you still. You physically attach yourself to the loom and enhance different steps by pressing forward to loosen the tension and pressing back to increase it. There are a lot of moving parts that can cause this network of tiny threads to entangle or snap. I know, I caused a few snags and entanglements.

A helping hand from my teacher

View from weaver's seat