RAW handweavers work at either floor looms or on back strap looms. Some of these instruments have been constructed in Worcester, to the artisans’ specifications, often with the collaboration of students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. A few weavers have carried their back strap looms from their home countries or from refugee camps to the U.S. Most of their cotton threads have been purchased on trips to Worcester crafts shops with Ellen Ferrante and Joan Kariko; at times, RAW helps to import threads from the artisans’ home countries. RAW’s weavers are often intrigued by thread types new to them (e.g., bamboo fibers, metallic threads), which are also available in Worcester sewing stores. Textile making techniques include supplementary weft, complementary warp pick up or complementary warp floats, and brocade. No ikat decoration of threads before weaving are employed by these artisans. The photographs here show how the warps are prepared for the loom and also show the modified floor looms and the back strap looms used by some of the artisans. This first photo shows the tools used with the back strap loom from Guatemala. In order, these tools re blade/batten; loom bars/sticks, the the belt or back strap itself.
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Back strap warping board, used by artisans from Burma -
Two harness floor loom modified by WPI students to accommodate specific requirements for each Bhutanese weaver -
Guatemala, warping board for back strap weaving -
Warping board, but using a set of chairs to wrap warp threads around -
Back strap loom from Guatemala. Weaver would afix the loom to some heavy, solid object such as a housepost -
Back strap tools used by Karenni weaver Tu Meh. Bottom to top: handsewn backstop; split rod tie stick, beater/blade/batten, bamboo temple (spreads fabric to width of warp), dowels for heddle sticks, warp end rod. Left: 2 bamboo stick shuttles.
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