Saturday, January 01, 2011

Women of Morocco and Rug Weaving

When I was visiting my husband in Morocco we went to visit the lovely city of Fes.  The famous tannery is there.  While on our walk through the city we came upon a carpet store.  We were shown upstairs and given tea to drink.  The owner thought that my husband was my guide but he was quickly put right about us.  Anyway, we were shown a lot of carpets.  Beautiful carpets.  Expensive carpets.  I came home with a carpet from one of my husband's relatives for free.  It took her a month to create it.  Which brings me to the subject that I want to discuss.  The art of making carpet in Morocco.  They are hand woven on looms.  I have always wanted to try to do this but have never had the opportunity.

Photo from here

There are women all over Morocco who weave carpets to make extra money for the family.  The carpets are usually sold for large amounts of money and the weavers are generally given a small portion of the profits.  However, cooperatives have sprung up all over Morocco and the women sell them directly to the consumer.  Weaver Fadma Mahamedet lives in the village of Ait Hamza and belongs to the cooperative there. 

Photo by Anna Beeke

You can read about her and the rest of the women who work in the cooperatives in Untangling Threads: Female Artisans in Morocco's Rug Weaving Industry.

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4 comments:

  1. it is a beautiful art!!! i have looked up the looms before and they cost so much. i don't know if i could probably make my own??? i was thinking a large frame... iam not sure have you ever looked it up before???

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  2. I have not checked into it, it is a wonderful craft and would be worth investing in.

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  3. yes it is worth invetsing in but at the moment i cannot afford the $2000-$3000. i wish i could, i would be at that loom all day long. when i was a kid i had a small one that i used to make pot holders with, i was always using that loom, never really played with my toys, just the loom

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  4. I built a loom myself on which this can be done for about $60. This kind of weaving can be done on a navajo style loom, which you can purchase new for about $345 (plus shipping), or you can just do what I did and look up the plans and have one of your tool-using friends build one for you out of closet rail, broom handles, and 2x4's.

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