I decided to create this series to explain what lies behind the value of an artisan textile piece, as I often hear people asking artisans: “Why is it so expensive?” "I can get it cheaper at..." But they don’t really understand all the differences that can exist between pieces and why, although they may look the same to an "untrained eye," there are actually many factors that come into play. This, of course, not to mention that most people cannot distinguish between a textile crafted by hand and one produced industrially.
I decided to start with the most basic element in textile creation: the thread. Yes, the thread, because fortunately, there are still people who craft thread by hand.
"We are so accustomed to threads and fabrics that we hardly notice their importance. That variety of woven, crafted, and knotted textile works continuously surrounds us in our daily lives" (Hartung, 1971).
The process of crafting artisan thread is a traditional activity that varies depending on the base material and the techniques used. In this article, I will provide a general description of the process, particularly as applied to natural fibers such as wool or cotton:
Obtaining the Raw Material
- Animal Fibers: They are obtained from the wool of sheep, alpacas, llamas, goat hair (such as mohair or cashmere), or angora rabbit hair. This involves carefully shearing the animal.
- Plant Fibers Plant fibers such as cotton, henequen, ixtle, palm, banana leaf, hemp, yucca, tule fiber, chichicastle, or amate are collected and prepared to extract the usable fibers.
- Fibers from Insects They are obtained from the silkworm.
These are just a few examples.
At this point, I would like to make a short parenthesis: among the artisans I have spoken with who still craft their thread by hand, almost all purchase the fibers, as raising the animals or cultivating the plants would represent an additional task to their work. In some cases, textile making is not their primary activity.
Cleaning and preparation
Animal Fibers: They are washed to remove dirt, natural oils (such as lanolin), and impurities.
Plant Fibers: In some, such as hemp, a process called “retting” is done, which consists of leaving the plants in water so that the unwanted parts decompose.
Posteriormente, se secan y peinan para alinear las fibras.
Combing
The fibers are passed through carders (barbed tools) to untangle them, align the strands, and create “wicks.” This step is essential to prepare the fibers for spinning.
Spinning
“The spinning process consists of grouping and binding loose strands so that they form a continuous thread, while at the same time printing the appropriate twist to give the thread resistance and elasticity” (D. Lechuga, 1982).
Various tools can be used for the spinning process, such as the spindle, the winch, a spinning wheel, or by hand. In Mexico, the most common thing is to use a winch and a spindle. The winch has a different shape and size depending on the material and the thickness of the thread you want to obtain. It is usually made of wood for wool, clay for cotton, and stone for ixtle.
To spin cotton, for example, the spindle rests on a clay bowl, a little clay is placed as a lubricant, and with the non-dominant hand, a sufficient amount of the material to be spun is grabbed and fed to the spindle. along the top while rotating it with the fingers of the dominant hand. The fibers are twisted to form a continuous thread, which is simultaneously wound towards the bottom of the spindle. This process allows you to regulate the thickness and tension of the thread according to the intended use (fine for light fabrics or thick for more resistant fabrics).
Silk thread can be spun manually; the thread is fed with the fingers of one hand and the strands are twisted with the other.
The Spaniards introduced the spinning wheel, which is still used to this day, mainly for spinning wool. Its use also requires skill, and there are fewer and fewer young people who want to carry out the process since it takes approximately 6 to 8 hours to obtain approximately one kilo of wool.
Additional twist (if necessary)
To obtain stronger yarn, two or more individual threads can be twisted together, forming a composite yarn.
Second wash
In the case of some materials, such as wool, after being spun, they go through a second washing process.
Winding or coiling
When the thread is to be used in its natural shade, it is wound either using a simple winder or with the spindle and winch.
They dye the wool of black sheep to achieve an even darker tone, as the natural wool tends to be more opaque or grayish.
This would conclude the process for a thread in its natural tone, but if we want to have threads in different shades, we must go through a dyeing process.
In the next article, we will address dyes.
ENGLISH 
ESPANOL