Coast Salish Wool Weaving
Mandy Jones and �Tannis Reis Calder
With photos from �Ladysmith Secondary
lumutoul’qun (wool from sheep)
Uncleaned sheep fleece donated by Mary Hill, from Cobble Hill BC, was taken to the beach to be cleaned in the early spring.
ni’ hakwushum tthu t’um’uw’luch kwus tth’xwul’qun
They used the washtub to wash the wool. In the presence of Coast Salish elders, large metal pots were used to boil the fleece in for cleaning.
‘e’uth ts’ey’hwul’qun’ ‘u tthu stth’utth’ixw lumutoul’qun.
Our students hung the washed wool to dry indoors on makeshift lines. As our grandparents did, we used the resources available to us to dry the fibres.
‘e’uth they’xul’qun’ ‘u tthu p’uq’ lumutoul’qun.
Our land-based learning class came together to tease the wool we cleaned. In this process, stray bits of grass and dirt were removed to ensure that the sheep fleece can be efficiently carded.
t-shul’qut tthu lumutoul’qun. Card the wool.
A carding machine was operated by students to form rovings to be spun into yarn. This process requires patience and skill, teaching us how important careful preparation is when creating a finished blanket.
‘e’uth qequluts’ ‘u tthu p’uq’ lumutoul’qun. �She’s spinning the white wool.�Students
Students learned how to spin the rovings made out of the wool we washed. Stz’uminus First Nation spinner and knitter Katherine Aleck visited our class to pass on her teachings.
Weaving on the loom�
Under my direction, and with the help of Coast Salish weavers, students learn how to weave on large scale, using the 10’ by 10’ loom we constructed out of old growth red cedar. We based this loom on historic drawings, and on looms we viewed while on a trip to the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, BC.
Transformation
Fleece is transformed to roving, which is transformed to yarn, which is transformed to a blanket. The spirit world teaches us to create in the corporeal world, and these teachings keep us safe.
Our class work has awakened the culture of many of our first nations students. We must keep awakening our students, first nations and non-first nations, to the teachings of our elders. In this way, our language will flourish and we will begin a healing journey.
Our elders teach us that by remembering our teachings, by living our teachings, by sharing our teachings, we will save the world...one blanket at a time.
Roving was traditionally spun into thick, bulky yarn with a spindle whorl. The spindle is the shaft and the whorl is the circular weight on the spindle. As prised tools they were often carved The spindle whorl is used symbolically in contemporary times as an art form.
Spindle Whorl
Styles of Weaving
Twill
(view is from the back of the loom)
How to twine a mini bag with a cardboard loom
Purchasing Yarn
Additional Resources