Weaving is a craft where humans use tools or their hands to interlace strips or loops, creating a structured pattern in strips or blocks.

Weaving yields endless creative possibilities, and the intertwining threads form a vibrant tapestry of life.

Hand weaving is one of the oldest manual crafts practised by humans, showcasing natural, simple, fresh, and concise artistic characteristics in raw materials, colours, and techniques. It has become a beloved form of handmade art.

The rich and colourful patterns in woven crafts often emerge during the weaving process, with some techniques inherently producing intricate designs. Standard weaving techniques include weaving, wrapping, stitching, and knotting.

1. Weaving:

The most fundamental technique encompasses braiding, plain weaving, pattern weaving, twist weaving, hat weaving, and binding weaving. Braiding is the most common technique in straw weaving, involving the simultaneous braiding and twisting of materials like straw or corn husks to create 3 to 7 strands of braids,

Commonly used as semi-finished materials for baskets, hats, and mats. Plain weaving is widely employed in straw, willow, and rattan weaving. It utilizes a warp and weft structure, interlacing threads to form patterns. Pattern weaving builds upon plain weaving by introducing variations, resulting in patterns like chain loops, cross loops, and plum blossom loops.

Hat weaving involves radially arranging pressed and rotated materials to form circular hats. Twist weaving is a common technique in willow weaving, using hemp threads as the warp and willow strips as the weft, creating a tight and sturdy structure.

2. Wrapping:

Involves using one material as the core and wrapping or binding it with other materials to achieve the desired shape and pattern. Techniques include wrapping buttons, wrapping, and rod-hammer buttons.

Button wrapping is standard in corn husk weaving, where braided core strands serve as warp and corn husks are wrapped around them. Each corn husk can be wrapped around the core twice before being buttoned, connecting the wrapped strands above and below through the buttoning process.

Wrapping is the even wrapping of wrapping materials along the core in one direction. For example, using rattan strips to cover the edges of rattan furniture, willow woven vessels, or handles enhances smoothness and durability.

3. Stitching:

Involves using needles, threads, or other materials to stitch two parts of woven materials or semi-finished products together to create an object. Standard techniques include hand-stitching, machine-stitching, and brick-stitching.

Hand-stitching connects braided materials such as straw or corn husk braids into sheets, creating tea coasters, wall hangings, and mats. Machine stitching employs a sewing machine to connect braided materials into items like straw hats and carrying baskets.

4. Knotting:

A combination of warp and weft forms, wrapping, and buttoning techniques. Standard techniques include the marigold and loop buttons. The marigold, known as knotting, uses corn husks wrapped around core strands as warp and weft.

They are then mutually compressed, looped, and knotted to create a three-dimensional continuous floral pattern resembling a lotus. Loop buttons are also a form of knotting, but they are flat and lack three-dimensionality.

Woven crafts form a unique artistic feature with their natural, simple, fresh, and concise artistic characteristics in terms of raw materials, colours, and weaving techniques.