Bedouin weaving
Most of the women work at home. The rugs are woven on the traditional ground looms, constructed of stones, sticks and other available objects. The whole process is done by hand from the washing, carding, spinning and dying of the yarn to the finished product. The strong, heavily twisted yarn is spun on a simple hand spindle. The spinner has a distaff full of twisted bunches of sheep's wool tucked under her left arm, or in a pocket or in a bag slung over her shoulder. She holds the spindle in her right hand and turns it quickly in her open palm, guiding the stream of fleece from the distaff with her left hand. Usually the spindle twirls so fast that one barely sees it turning, just the yarn accumulating on the handleIt is this type of spindle that many Bedouin women and girls take out with them while they are watching the flocks. It is quite fascinating to watch how they continue to spin...
