What makes these rugs so different from the others and a great investment?
The fibers and colors are natural.
The textiles are made of native sheep wool—never synthetics. Natural colors of black, brown and white are carded together to create an extensive palette of grays, tans, beiges and browns. Only the black wool may be dyed with a natural or synthetic dye to stabilize and intensify the color.
The wool is spun almost as finely as thread.
The weavers have mastered the craft of spinning wool to a fineness that is not found in other regional styles of Navajo weaving. Finely spun yarn determines the fineness of the weave and the excellence of the finished textile.
There are many wefts per inch.
The weft yarn is the horizontal yarn that manifests the design. Finely woven and intricate designs possess more wefts per inch. An average Toadlena/Two Grey Hills weaving contains 40–50 wefts per inch. A weaving that contains 80 or more wefts per inch is too fine to be considered or used as a rug and is classified as a tapestry. Our textiles are among the most technically refined of modern weavings, some having weft counts as high as 90–120 per inch.
The designs are complex and symmetrical.
These textiles are intricate arrangements of geometric motifs contained within double or multiple borders. Competition judges look for precise symmetry: when folded end to end or lengthwise, the halved patterns will match nearly perfectly.
From Sheep to Rug - Hand spun vs. Commercial Yarn
The textiles are made of native sheep wool—never synthetics. Natural colors of black, brown and white are carded together to create an extensive palette of grays, tans, beiges and browns. Only the black wool may be dyed with a natural or synthetic dye to stabilize and intensify the color.
The wool is spun almost as finely as thread.
The weavers have mastered the craft of spinning wool to a fineness that is not found in other regional styles of Navajo weaving. Finely spun yarn determines the fineness of the weave and the excellence of the finished textile.
There are many wefts per inch.
The weft yarn is the horizontal yarn that manifests the design. Finely woven and intricate designs possess more wefts per inch. An average Toadlena/Two Grey Hills weaving contains 40–50 wefts per inch. A weaving that contains 80 or more wefts per inch is too fine to be considered or used as a rug and is classified as a tapestry. Our textiles are among the most technically refined of modern weavings, some having weft counts as high as 90–120 per inch.
The designs are complex and symmetrical.
These textiles are intricate arrangements of geometric motifs contained within double or multiple borders. Competition judges look for precise symmetry: when folded end to end or lengthwise, the halved patterns will match nearly perfectly.
From Sheep to Rug - Hand spun vs. Commercial Yarn