Probably the lengthiest part of production has to be the fabric. Our fabric is all handloomed using a hemp and cotton blend. The photo below shows one of the handlooms that we are using. Depending on the weave and thickness of yarn, a loom like this can produce around 12 metres of fabric a day.
This fabric has been yarn dyed prior to weaving. This will result in a more even colour over many metres of fabric. In some cases the yarn is too delicate to dye and better to loom and dye the fabric after, in this situation it is only possible to dye 10 metre segments at a time. (The risk with this approach is that each 10 metre strip could yield varying tones!) The photo below is a closer look at the hemp cotton fabric on the loom. It has been yarn dyed using pomegranate.
For some items, we have to "piece-dye" which means dyeing the product after completion. This is the case for naturally dyeing silk shawls, wool yarn and felt. The final photo below shows a sample of these undyed products.
Top : Hemp/Cotton Fabric
Centre : Felt Balls
Background : Raw Silk Shawls
