Navajo weavers | Page 3

paste, and the whole
is very slightly warmed. The entire process does not occupy over an
hour and the result is a color much like that now known as "old gold."
The reddish dye is made of the bark of Alnus incana var. virescens
(Watson) and the bark of the root of Cercocarpus parvifolius; the
mordant being fine juniper ashes. On buckskin this makes a brilliant
tan-color; but applied to wool it produces a much paler tint.
§ III. Plate XXXVIII and Fig. 42 illustrate ordinary blanket-looms.
Two posts, a a, are set firmly in the ground; to these are lashed two
cross-pieces or braces, b c, the whole forming the frame of the loom.
Sometimes two slender trees, growing at a convenient distance from
one another, are made to answer for the posts, d is a horizontal pole,
which I call the supplementary yarn-beam, attached to the upper brace,
b, by means of a rope, e e, spirally applied. f is the upper beam of the
loom. As it is analogous to the yarn-beam of our looms, I will call it by
this name, although once only have I seen the warp wound around it. It
lies parallel to the pole d, about 2 or 3 inches below it, and is attached
to the latter by a number of loops, g g. A spiral cord wound around the
yarn-beam holds the upper border cord h h, which, in turn, secures the
upper end of the warp i i. The lower beam of the loom is shown at k. I
will call this the cloth-beam, although the finished web is never wound
around it; it is tied firmly to the lower brace, c, of the frame, and to it is
secured the lower border cord of the blanket. The original distance
between the two beams is the length of the blanket. Lying between the
threads of the warp is depicted a broad, thin, oaken stick, l, which I will
call the batten. A set of healds attached to a heald-rod, m, are shown
above the batten. These healds are made of cord or yarn; they include
alternate threads of the warp, and serve when drawn forward to open
the lower shed. The upper shed is kept patent by a stout rod, n (having
no healds attached), which I name the shed-rod. Their substitute for the
reed of our looms is a wooden fork, which will be designated as the
reed-fork (Fig. 44, a).
[Illustration: FIG. 42.--Ordinary Navajo blanket loom.]

For convenience of description, I am obliged to use the word "shuttle,"
although, strictly speaking, the Navajo has no shuttle. If the figure to be
woven is a long stripe, or one where the weft must be passed through 6
inches or more of the shed at one time, the yarn is wound on a slender
twig or splinter, or shoved through on the end of such a piece of wood;
but where the pattern is intricate, and the weft passes at each turn
through only a few inches of the shed, the yarn is wound into small
skeins or balls and shoved through with the finger.
§ IV. The warp is thus constructed: A frame of four sticks is made, not
unlike the frame of the loom, but lying on or near the ground, instead of
standing erect. The two sticks forming the sides of the frame are rough
saplings or rails; the two forming the top and bottom are smooth
rounded poles--often the poles which afterwards serve as the beams of
the loom; these are placed parallel to one another, their distance apart
depending on the length of the projected blanket.
On these poles the warp is laid in a continuous string. It is first firmly
tied to one of the poles, which I will call No. 1 (Fig. 43); then it is
passed over the other pole, No. 2, brought back under No. 2 and over
No. 1, forward again under No. 1 and over No. 2, and so on to the end.
Thus the first, third, fifth, &c., turns of the cord cross in the middle the
second, fourth, sixth, &c., forming a series of elongated figures 8, as
shown in the following diagram--
[Illustration: FIG. 43.--Diagram showing formation of warp.]
and making, in the very beginning of the process, the two sheds, which
are kept distinct throughout the whole work. When sufficient string has
been laid the end is tied to pole No. 2, and a rod is placed in each shed
to keep it open, the rods being afterwards tied together at the ends to
prevent them from falling out.
This done, the weaver takes three strings (which are afterwards twilled
into one, as will appear) and ties them together at one end. She now sits