Chinchero textile techniques

At the artisan center, we got a demonstration of the full process that goes into the making of the textile.

First, they use the root of a plant called Sakhta. This plant is also called the Inca shampoo since it was used on the hair as well to clean and to keep it black.
The root is grated and then added to luke warm water. This mixture is then stirred to get a foam.

Then the wool from the alpaca or the sheep is washed in this mixture.

After the cleaning, the wool is spun into a yarn by a single spinning wheel.

After this, comes the dyeing of the yarn with different colors. Only naturally available sources were used for the colors and the binding agents.
Leaves of Chilka plant for green color plus copper sulphate from the volcanoes as the binding agent.
Spanish moss for red color.
Three corner plant twigs for blue color. This is a medicinal plant as well that can be uses for liver and kidney ailments.
Chicha morada (purple corn) for purple color. Only the husk is used for the coloring. Kids' urine is used as the binding agent.
Cochin, a white parasite on the cactus become maroon when crushed in the hand with a little water. With lime, the color becomes orange. This is used for tattoos and as a lip color.
Koli flowers are used for the yellow color.

Each has a separate binding agent and different quantity of water and different amount of time for heating, for preparing the dyes.Read more