Traditional Peru Textiles
The quechua collection by threads of peru is the culmination of years of wandering the rolling hills of the andes drawing inspiration from the vibrant colors culturally rich designs and awe inspiring mastery of traditional quechua weaving.
Traditional peru textiles. But perhaps their most characteristic skill is the hybrid weaving embroidery technique. The most popular color. Of the four million alpacas that exist 80 live in the central and southern regions of peru at elevations between 10000 feet 15000 feet where temperatures can swing more than 50 degrees in a single day.
The mission of the center is to aid in the survival of cusquenan textile traditions and to provide support to the indigenous people who create them. We use only the finest pima cotton and alpaca. The villages surrounding cusco are the epicenter of perus textile industry with alpaca llama and goods in high demand.
And theres even more to it. The centro de textiles tradicionales del cusco cttc is a non profit organization that was established in 1996 by andean weavers and their supporters. Traditional weaving is an extremely important craft for peru.
Home design production. Perus textiles are prized around the world which makes sense considering that the weaving tradition here is over 4000 years old. We are a brand that values handmade pieces we want to help preserve textile techniques that have existed in peru for over 5000 years provide training to artisans to improve their textile work and support them in receiving a fair income for their work.
For the modern socially conscious consumer the dual concepts for this collection were developed to offer an exquisite diversity of peruvian elegance. The most common peruvian fabric material is cotton. The textiles of peru today although todays alpaca fleece is of lesser quality than that produced by the ancient inca it is still one of the most desirable wools in the world.
The santa cruz de sallac weaving community is known for practicing two unique peruvian textile techniques. As the spanish imposed their law and culture on the indigenous people of peru and the incan empire was crushed so was traditional textile production as the spanish did not want competition for their artisans in europe. Perus best weaving culture is found in cusco chinchero and huancayo.
A new system was set up to produce european style cloth introducing new materials from sheep silk and metallic threads. The weavers have revived this resist dyeing technique with which they create the pattern of the inca cross called chakana a strong spiritual symbol of peru. Textiles are made using the wool of llamas alpacas and vicunas and the weavings are dipped into dyes made from flowers roots and leaves.
The herds of alpaca llama and vicuna are cared for by indigenous shepherds and breeders. The center works with ten weaving communities in the cusco region of peru on a fair trade basis to help rescue traditions and promote the weavers and their work. The locals have been using woven garments and household items for thousands of years by now.
Watay can be traced back to the pre inca nazca and huari cultures.