Home Knitting Hand Weaving Screen-Printing Otavalos Embroidery Blog
WHO WE ARE?
We are a community of weavers, knitters and embroiders from Otavalos, a village north of Quito Ecuador. We’ve learned traditional Ecuadorian weaving, embroidering, and dying techniques from our fathers. "For centuries, wooden looms are still (our simple and) authentic weaving instrument".
Since 1993 until today, we keep proudly exhibiting hand loomed wall rugs, woolen hand knitted sweaters all over the world. In association with International Entrepreneurs Community - INTICON - most of the shows are demonstratives as well making by hand, personalizing and customizing.
CRAFTS:
Hand loomed Wall Hanging Rugs: Natural Wool. The vivid colors of the sky, fields and the mountains surrounding our home valley are duplicated in our weavings. Also some of the symbols as figures on our tapestries are inspired in traditional native weavers from all over America. Pacha mama is the symbol, which identifies Otavalos World Exhibitions. It’s a memorabilia of the animals extinguished from Mother Earth as consequence of many oil companies rushed virgin forest in Las Amazonas, South America.
Personalized Hand Woven Bracelets: We’ll be demonstrating how to customized friendship bracelets by hand on a little piece of floppy plastic in different colors thread and dimensions..
Hand Embroideries and Knitted Sweaters: Embroidered by hand in nature’s cotton blouses, dresses and shirts. These embroideries are characterized for the special stitches used to make with elegance and colorful patterns. We are proud to present our costumers “Elite” a beautifully hand knitted sweaters. In most of our sweaters we incorporate abstract colors, flowers, birds and all kind of details into a final finish. Wool produced in The Altiplano of Ecuador is hand dyed and used by the talented knitters to create this charming and imaginative outwear. Some of these adult designs are available in children sizes. Accessories include fun gloves and great hats.
Folk Musical Instruments & Native American Flute songs: Handicrafts come handed by believes and village feelings; music becomes a very important part of our destiny. Traditional Pan Flute Music recordings are available as well. We hand made our own folk musical instruments record instrumental music of Latin American. We share experiences and educational seminars. We will take you through a minutes of adventure as you are enlighten with some Otavalos Native histories and the impact its music has prorogued from its past until present days. This is available for any events for schools. Also you will witness the intricate process of making native instruments of the south. At about an hour span you will learn how to make a real bamboo sampoña an also the secrets of tuning it to its mystical sounds. With audience involvement we will create a moment of unique experience.
Otavalos World: Made by Hands
The most important indigenous community than has managed to maintain its own appearance economic and social is The Otavalos. They compose the dense villages or indigenous communities of Quinchuquí, Carabuela, Cotama, Iluman to name a few. The basic characteristics is its great initiative, with ambitious sense of the commerce and the business. As much within the country as outside him, Otavalean is known him with the generic name of "Indian". But this Indian by their singular personality, foreign sociologists have given qualifying, the very noble one him by the way, of "native Aristocracy of America". Human group of extraordinary intelligence, is known to surpass itself by the decisive influence of the primary school. The school taught to him to read and to write and this it was sufficient so that he with his own forces makes the rest, that is to say, to control to the surrounding atmosphere and his limitations. Its first attempt went the one to learn to read and to count, "not to let itself rob by the target". Thus it did it. But soon it was further on. The Spanish learned to conquer to the "target" and in this conquest he today is triumphant and magnificent, because people of America and Europe come to Otavalo, to the Saturday fair, to know him, to talk with him, while it takes advantage of selling his beautiful weaves to him, exclusive and loosely original. Anywhere in the world the purchase of its weaves manufactured by him with an innate and formidable ability is a finding. Indian Otavalos not only produces weaves of quality and of good taste, but that he crosses untiring all Ecuador selling his weaves, that take them to the shoulder, does not look for intermediaries and personally looks for the client. This truth is so unquestionable because in all Ecuador are weaves done by him. This we can see it everywhere. It does not concern the climate. Today it has initiated the conquest of the markets of Europe. For it, some years ago, a group of Otavalos (around fifteen), solved to be transferred to Spain, because there "the language is easier". They were located in Madrid. They were dedicated to weave actively with cheap raw material, wool or nylon, they left to cross the streets. They called the attention by its indumenta that psychologically is part of the business, and thus "they seated seat". As he is customary to work communitarian, that is to say, in group, in family, once they felt firm in the business, they reunited its money and they came to call to its relatives who were in Otavalo. Now, they are established in Madrid. They have come to take a step more: they have opened a warehouse, that soon will be several, with the name of "Ecuador folklore". This warehouse is located in one of the most centric avenues of Madrid. At the moment they are taking more manual labor, because the next passage from its taking to Europe is soon going to be Germany and Holland.
An audacious and formidable company. Another particularity of the Otavalos is the one of its immaculate honesty, because it knows that this requirement is part of a good business and is base of his good prestige. But without a doubt, its greater honesty, is the one of the fulfillment of its word, because in his youth, when it looks for his companion of all his life, first it enamors it violently and throwing pebbles to him. Soon it clears the fachalina to him. Then yes it will make the ask the parents of her, with the support of all his family. Accepted this order, the Mayor of the Commune them "puts the rosaries" and already they are married. The marriage before the Civil Registry and soon before the church, will later be fulfilled them like secondary question. Once married, the Indian is faithful, is hogareño. He wants much to his woman and her children. He takes care of himself to educate them properly. All of them in weaves and other activities of the house work. One knows that from the pre Inca the Indian Otavalos had weaver fame.
The Sarances was admirable. When they arrive the Spaniards, they take advantage of this technical ability and they organize the remembered manufactures, of whose production they supply with its fabrics to the Real Hearing of Quito, to the Virreynato of Lima and the Virreynato de Nueva Granada. In the wars of independence, Bolivar celebrates contracts of these fabrics for the uniforms, the blankets and other manage for the army of liberation. At the Republican time, several governments to the national consumption of these famous weaves, that were continued exporting Peru, Colombia and other places. In short, the Indian Otavalos has maintained by hundreds of years the prestige of his good and admirable weaves like that, in international exhibitions like those of Paris at the beginning of this century, they obtained gold medals. And, had indeed to this professionalism of the Otavalos in the manufactured textile industry, he has caused that today he has, like no indigenous group of Ecuador, sufficient economic solution. Their activity and its originality do not have competition.
Early origins of knitting
An exact geographical origin for knitting cannot be specified. Some people may believe that the craft was developed B.C., but this is strongly disputed today. The oldest remnants of seemingly knitted pieces are those that were worn as socks. It is believed that socks and stockings were the first pieces to be produced by techniques similar to knitting as they had to be shaped in order to fit the foot, whereas woven cloth could be used for most other items of clothing. Today it is known that these early socks were worked in Nålebinding, an ancient craft which involves creating fabric from thread by making multiple knots or loops. It is done with a needle (originally of wood or bone). There exist numerous techniques of nalebinding, and some of them look very similar to true knitting. This craft was almost dead by the time archaeological excavations started except in some very remote areas, so no one thought about it. Some of the oldest textiles ever found are today believed to be a kind of nalebinding. It has been speculated that nalebinding or related techniques may have preceded the ability to spin continuous thread, because nalebinding isn't worked with a continuous thread and so doesn't require one. Several other pieces done in now almost extinct techniques have been mistaken for knitting or crochet by archaeologists who had no training in the history of needlework.
The first references to true knitting in Europe were in the early 14th century, although the first knitted socks from Egypt are older, some scholars dating them to the 11th century. At these early times, the purl stitch was unknown; in order to produce plain knitting it was necessary to knit in the round and then cut it open. The first reference to purl stitch dates from the mid-16th century, but the knowledge may have slightly preceded that.
History of Embroidery.
Embroidery, the art of forming decorative designs with hand or machine needlework, has been around nearly as long as clothing itself. Evidence shows that Ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Phoenicians and Hebrews used embroidery for decorating their robes. The Moors also decorated much of their clothing with embroidery. They had a style of their own which spread to other countries like Spain and Sicily. Moorish embroidery greatly influenced many European countries.
The oldest embroidery works still in existence date back to the Middle Ages when embroidery was often used in ecclesiastical vestments as well as clothing. It also represented a sign of wealth, and rich traders and merchants were willing to pay a large sum of money for the luxury of embroidered clothing. For more information about the history and cultural variations of embroidery, visit http://users.rcn.com/kdyer.dnai/history.html
History of weaving
Weaving is an ancient textile art and craft that involves placing two sets of threads or yarn made of fiber called the warp and weft of the loom and turning them into cloth. This cloth can be plain (in one color or a simple pattern), or it can be woven in decorative or artistic designs, including tapestries.
The majority of commercial fabrics, in the West, are woven on computer-controlled Jacquard looms. In the past, simpler fabrics were woven on other dobby looms and the Jacquard harness adaptation was reserved for more complex patterns. Some believe the efficiency of the Jacquard loom, and the Jacquard weaving process makes it more economical for mills to use them to weave all of their fabrics, regardless of the complexity of the design. However, an industrialist weaving large runs of simple plain weave fabric may need to be convinced of the logic of investing in Jacquard machines, when a much lower cost loom would suffice. Hand weaving, along with hand spinning, is a popular craft. Weavers use wooden looms to create rugs, fabrics, and tapestries. Fabric in which the warp and/or weft is tie-dyed before weaving is called ikat. Fabric decorated using a wax resist method is called batik. Satin weaves, twill weaves, and plain weaves are the 3 basic types of weaving by which the majority of woven products are formed.
_ "To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing" _ Elbert Hubbard
RUMIÑAWI Stone-eyed Native Leader:
Who was ATI Pillahuaso? Rumiñahui (late 15th century – June 25, 1535) was an Inca warrior who, after Emperor Atahualpa's death, led the resistance against the Spanish in the northern part of the Inca Empire (modern-day Ecuador) in 1533. Though his real name was Ati Pillahuaso, he was nicknamed "Rumiñahui" which in Quechua means "stone-eyed". Inca historians tend to believe that he was Atahualpa's half brother, born from a native noble woman. After Francisco Pizarro captured Atahualpa and demanded a ransom to release him, Rumiñahui had been marching towards Cajamarca to deliver a huge amount of gold. Nonetheless, even as the Spanish obtained a room of gold, they still ordered Atahualpa's immediate execution out of distrust. Once Rumiñahui learned of this, he returned to the area that is now Ecuador, believed to have buried the gold, and prepared to resist the Spanish. Pizarro sent his lieutenant Sebastián de Benalcázar to capture Rumiñahui, take Quito and bring whatever gold. The forces of Rumiñahui and Benalcázar met beneath Mount Chimborazo, where Rumiñahui was defeated. However, before the Spanish forces could capture Quito, Rumiñahui had it burned to the ground. Rumiñahui was eventually captured, tortured and killed by the Spanish, however he never revealed the whereabouts of the treasure.
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