Shearing, scouring
and skirting
Firstly, sheep are sheared in October in order to get a more natural fleece. Then the wool is scoured with neutral soaps to remove the high level of grease which contains lanoline, allowing later the tints in the dying process to penetrate successfully.
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Skirting and Spinning
The fleece must be later skirted, which consists on opening the Basic fibers and preparing them for spinning process. Spinning is turning the raw wool into a continuous yarn using a spindle. This device is a wooden stick with some weight on one edge and rolls making the wool become a finest thread...
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... or with a Spinning Wheel which is a wooden device with a Wheel and a pedal that makes it spin the yarn into thread faster. The obtained thread is then put double and twisted so as to get a double thread which means greater tension and strength. This is finally the fiber used for knitting.
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Dyeing
Once the hank is obtained, the dyeing with natural tints becomes the important event. These tints come from plants, crust, roots, Tea herbs, yerba mate or anilines that provide a wide colour range to enhance combination textile designs.
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Traditional Loom
The weave can be done in two different types of looms. The Straight Loom allows plain weaving , fringed weaving...
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... or Crossed Stitch.
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Mapuche Loom
... or Mapuche Loom which allows three kind of designs:...
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... PEINECILLO ...
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... LABOR ...
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... o RAYADO.
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