Handcraft Weaving Nov 11th

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Many of the items we use in our everyday lives are woven, from bed sheets to chair seats, socks to rugs, and curtains to clothing. Of course, not all of these are handwoven or produced by hand, the majority of them are now created by machine. Although there are still artisans who continue the skills and traditions of the early weavers by weaving cloth on handlooms in home studios or small weaving businesses, these handcrafted textiles appear to be undervalued and underappreciated by most people. Their ties to domesticity and traditional women's work could be one cause for this. Another is the advancement of modern looms that can create large amounts of cloth in a short amount of time, which makes handcraft weaving outdated.

When we say handcraft, it is a skilled activity in which something is made by hand in a traditional manner rather than by machines in a factory. Weaving is the process of interlacing threads to create fabric or cloth with the use of a power-operated loom or hand. So handcraft weaving refers to weaving made by hand. While most people associate weaving with the process of manufacturing fabric, there are other types of weaving, such as basket weaving, in which straw or grasses are woven together. 

Weaving is recognized as one of the world's oldest surviving crafts. It has been practiced since the Neolithic period, some 12,000 years ago. Early man created the first string by weaving plant fibers together. The essential principle of weaving was used to interlace branches and twigs to make fences, shelters, and baskets for protection even before the actual process of weaving was discovered. These are all the starting points for the development of weaving, spinning, and sewing.

Weaving is a common thread that runs across all cultures around the world. For example, In Central America, Mayan women weave fabric for clothing and other essentials on what is known as a backstrap loom (a loom fastened to a tree on one end and wrapped around one's back on the other). According to myth, their goddess Ixchel is said to have taught the first woman how to weave at the beginning of time. For that reason, Mayan mothers have been teaching their daughters how to wrap themselves around the loom and weave gorgeous cloth for three thousand years, from generation to generation.

Another is silk weaving which originated in China. Silk is produced by the silkworm. The silkworm spins an extremely fine fiber for his cocoon. The silk is unwound from the cocoon in the same way that thread is unwound from a spool. Silk has been woven into a variety of textiles in China, including clothes, tapestries (fabric paintings), and wall hangings.

The Southeast Asian region is also home to some of the most beautiful handwoven fabrics on our planet. From Cambodian and Thai ikats (dyeing technique) to Indonesian and Malaysian golden songket (fabric), and Philippine piña silk (pineapple leaf fibers and silk). Each country has its own centuries-old weaving traditions that are gorgeously distinct and must-see items for visitors. In some regions, making cloth is recognized as the classic form of women's labor and creativity, and they used to have to master the textile arts before they were allowed to marry.

Weaving is a good way for kids to practice their fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are a set of abilities that allow you to manipulate small items with your hands and fingers. It entails movements like gripping, squeezing objects between the fingertips, and holding a pencil, all of which require the use of tiny muscles in the hands. Weaving also aids in the development of eye-hand coordination, focus, and pattern and sequence recognition in children. As they weave, children must consider and work through any challenges they come into, resulting in the development of problem-solving skills.

Woven fabrics are strong, resistant to shrinkage, and rigid in structure. They don't quickly wear away and are suitable for clothing that is subjected to a lot of abuse. They may also be utilized in conditions that would otherwise destroy nonwoven materials.   However, weaving yarn by hand to manufacture fabrics and clothes is a time-consuming and tiring activity. Because of its high cost of manufacturing and other drawbacks, the skill of hand-weaving yarn has become obsolete and is no longer trendy nor practical.