Techniques & Technologies

Although the precise circumstances of creation and collection often remain out of reach, unfinished textiles reveal a great deal about the process of Navajo weaving. Based on its incomplete state, Diné (Navajo) weavers Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas suggest that the maker of this particular piece might have passed away before she could finish the planned design. The textile also smells of soot—with a few burn marks and singed warp ends—indicating that it may have survived a fire and was subsequently sold to the collector, George H. Pepper, “as is.” Another unique aspect of the piece is that a shovel handle was used as the top beam of the loom, revealing that weavers often creatively sourced materials that were readily available for the construction of their loom frames.

The half-finished textile is coarsely textured and the weft yarns are unraveling where the weaver stopped at the cotton warp ends, which further exposes the nubby quality of the yarn. The fiber’s uneven ply suggests that the yarn was spun by an older weaver, who may not have been able to maintain tension when preparing the fiber for weaving. The blanket is sewn down the middle, indicating that it was intended to be collected and displayed in its current unfinished state (see below).¹ In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, ethnographers sought in-progress pieces as a way to gain a technical understanding of the medium. It is possible that curators then displayed works like this in a museum context to reveal the making process to visitors.

This unfinished Hopi woman’s dress, still on its loom, was constructed with wool warp and weft. Close examination reveals that the threads were originally colored with indigo, but then overdyed with a darker hue to achieve the rich black color. The dress is constructed from three distinct panels and a raised weft thread marks their division. The top and bottom parts are woven in a simple twill, while the middle contains a diamond twill weave. The weaver most likely made part of the dress, then flipped the loom and continued to weave from the other side.

As among neighboring peoples in the Southwest, Hopi looms with half-finished textiles—in this case, a dress, donated by Herbert J. Spinden—were sometimes made for souvenir markets and museum collectors around the turn of the twentieth century. It is apparent that the yarn used in this piece was much more finely spun than in the textiles on the other two looms in this section, perhaps because of its use as a dress, which would be lighter than a blanket for purposes of mobility and breathability.¹

In most weaving techniques in the region, the weft is passed through a gap called the shed, which is created by lifting different combinations of warp threads. On all three of these looms, the warp was prepared in the same way.² The desired number and length of warp threads is achieved by wrapping counted threads around two poles or a warping frame placed in the ground. The warp is then carefully transferred onto wooden beams and secured to set up the loom for weaving.

With looms that are set up for plain weave, such as those of the Navajo and Zuni, there are two sets of heddles that can be lifted to produce the shed. By contrast, this Hopi loom features four sets of heddles, which separate the warp threads into different groups to create more complex patterns, like the diamond twill, when they are picked up.³ The heddles are controlled by the weaver’s hand as he lifts a string fastened to each rod. Unlike most Navajo and Zuni loom-woven textiles, this beautiful black dress was woven across the entire width of the loom with one passing of the weft, resulting in a continuous field of color and material. Additionally, the tightness of the selvedges (the woven edges of the textile) reveals the weaver’s ability to maintain tension, which demonstrates his exceptional skill.

—Jessie Young

Zuni and Hopi weavers typically construct their textiles with an open, balanced weave, whereas Navajo textiles are weft-faced and densely packed. This weaving is made with thick and coarse wool in a natural palette, a common attribute of Zuni textiles. There is a horsehair rope bound to the top beam, which might have been used to keep the loom taut and upright as the weaver worked. This piece and its loom frame were acquired by Alfred L. Kroeber during a museum collecting expedition between 1910 and 1912, accompanied by several skeins of yarn, which affirm that scholars and collectors had a specific interest in materials and the value of process rather than just finished products.

Upright Pueblo looms are reported to have been in existence in the American Southwest since 1100 CE and very little has changed over time regarding their structure and the technique used to operate them. In Pueblo weaving traditions, the loom was often suspended from the roof beams of a sacred structure called the kiva, and male weavers sat on the floor while they worked. While Navajo weaving relied on a wooden frame of upright poles to support the warp beams, the lower beams of the Pueblo loom’s frame were anchored into the ground with heavy stones.¹ The Pueblo loom could easily be disassembled and stored within the home. The tension could also be adjusted using the rope that secured it to the ground and ceiling, used for lifting and lowering the loom. As this partial blanket reveals, the weaver relied on a slender stick, called a temple, to maintain a consistent width throughout the weaving process.

Historically, Pueblo weavers worked with a limited color palette and simple patterning, a practice that supported a less complex design vocabulary and fewer color combinations than in Navajo weaving. In Zuni weaving, a thick two-ply or sometimes three-ply cord was attached to the outer edges of the warp, which was then wrapped around by the weft thread, creating a pronounced, durable selvedge.² Here, the thick, dark brown yarn—quite visible even at a distance—serves this purpose. The weaver of this unfinished textile wrapped the weft around two or three other warp ends and the outer thread in contrast to the typical selvedge found in Navajo weavings (see two illustrations below).

—Jessie Young

When you sit down at your loom, you sit down at your universe.

—Lynda Teller Pete (Diné), textile artist

Tools are essential to the weaving process. While all weaving tools are utilitarian objects that assist the weaver in the construction of a textile, they also have spiritual significance and serve as markers of Diné (Navajo) identity. Many such tools are considered to be animate beings and embody a soul (or a life force) of their own. Some weavers think of the warp as a child that only becomes an adult through the creation of a textile. Weaving tools are also considered to have power to protect the weaver from potential harm.

One of the illustrated sets, consisting of a comb and three battens, belongs to fifth-generation Diné weaver Lynda Teller Pete, who uses them when she and her sister, Barbara Teller Ornelas, teach weaving workshops. Pete and Ornelas have been collecting tools from their grandmother since they first learned how to weave; their father, Sam Teller, built their first looms and tools.¹ Their late nephew, Terry Lee, made their newer tools, and Lynda’s husband, Belvin Pete, has been making specialty looms. Pete commented that “tool and loom makers really are the unsung heroes of the weaving world.”²

Weavers often have a personal connection with their loom and its tools, and these objects are an important part of Diné identity and culture.³ In addition to their teaching tools, Pete and Ornelas have another set that they consider sacred, many of which belonged to relatives such as their grandmother, grandfather, and mother, all of whom have now passed. While the combs pictured here appear slightly used, the ones that they work with at home show considerable evidence of use and wear. Specific woods selected for these tools by the sisters and other Navajo weavers include hardwoods such as piñon (associated with male qualities) or softwoods like cedar (female qualities), which can determine the type of comb that the weaver chooses to use.⁴ Similarly, weavers may select their combs based on the teeth, weight, or hand feel.⁵ The weaver grips the comb in their dominant hand and uses it to pack down the weft after it has been inserted between the warp threads. It is important to use this tool to maintain an even and compact structure. Pete and Ornelas advise that the combs should be handled with care and routinely maintained through light oiling and sanding when between projects to increase their longevity.

—Jessie Young

The Navajo loom itself is considered a sacred object, symbolizing sturdiness and strength, and being in its presence requires mindfulness and respect. As described in the story of Spider Woman, the Navajo loom originated in the cords of sky and earth, which explains the beginnings of Navajo weaving. Looms and other weaving tools are thus “a material link between the past, present, and future and memorialize people, kin ties, families, weaving knowledge, skill, and traditions.”¹ Weaving and its many tools manifest and enact important aspects of oral tradition and cultural heritage.² While each weaver and their family maintain their own traditions, interpretations, and values, many share a common belief that weaving tools are highly regarded and sacred objects.

Winding the warp and dressing the loom are the first steps a weaver must undertake before beginning to create a textile.³ The warp is usually constructed on a warping frame, which is wound around two wooden poles or beams that are the same measurement in distance as the desired textile length. Between the beams, a single-ply cord is wound in a figure-eight motion to construct a cross in the center. The cross is important for creating the shed, or gap, between the threads that the weft is passed through, allowing the threads to separate during the weaving process. For Navajo textiles, the warp cord is one long continuous piece and typically consists of seven to twelve warps per inch.

—Jessie Young