MATERIALS & DYES

Wool and Bark: Processing and Spinning

Warps are the weaving element that hang vertically from the loom bar. Raven’s tail warps are pure wool, but Chilkat weaving needs stiffer warps, so shredded bark from the yellow cedar is spun in. The size of the warp impacts the level of detail the weaver can achieve and how much time the weaving will take. Wefts are the weaving elements that run horizontally, twining in and out of the warps. Detail can also be controlled by the size of the wefts. Today’s weavers often thigh spin the vertical warp by hand and use store-bought yarn for the horizontal wefts. A righthanded weaver will spin yarns with a Z-twist, while commercial yarns are typically S-twist. Sometimes weavers will hand-dye their weft yarns, which are scoured clean with soap, then the dye colors are “fixed” to the fiber with alum, urine or other mordant.

In Chilkat weaving, weavers use pattern boards, templates and measuring tools to ensure the weaving is balanced and symmetrical. Sections of the weaving are connected with drawstrings of sinew or cotton. The tail ends of the twined yarn are needled up into the back of the weaving.

The Chilkat Dye Working Group

Left: Patty Fiorella

Middle: Della Cheney (with hat), Pamla Credo-Hayes, Lily Hope, Deanna Lampe, Pattie Adkisson, Yarrow Vaara, Liana Wallace, Nancy Keen, Patty Fiorella, and Kay Field Parker

Right: Kay Field Parker, Marcia Stier, Deanna Lampe, Lily Hope, and Patty Fiorella

Raven’s tail weaving includes wefts (horizontal elements) that are dyed black/brown or yellow. Chilkat weaving also uses those colors, and adds blue/ green to the palette. The ingredients of the dye and the dyeing methods have varied over time and place, but little research has been done on dyeing with natural materials mentioned in historical sources. The Chilkat Dye Working Group is a collaboration of weavers hosted by the Alaska State Museum to guide the research of both historical and new Chilkat dye technologies. As part of the Pacific Northwest Conservation Science Consortium, the group sends both fiber samples from old robes and new dye reference materials to chemists at Portland State University for analysis. This synergy of art and science enhances our understanding of past innovations in their cultural context and promotes the ongoing practice of weaving through a network of nourishing relationships.

Contributors include: Ellen Carrlee, Liana Wallace, Lily Hope, Patty Fiorella, Kay Field Parker, Della Cheney, Yarrow Vaara, Marsha Hotch, Deanna Lampe, Marcia Stier, Pamla Credo-Hayes, Pattie Adkisson, Dorica Jackson, Marsha Hotch, Ernestine Hanlon-Abel, Corinne Dennis, Nancy Ratner, Anna Brown Ehlers, Debra O’Gara, William White, Sophie Lager, Marguerite Fiorella, Carol Thilenius, Suzi Williams, Clarissa Rizal, Mary Irvine, and Aaron Elmore.