Fez, 22 June 2024

Today is the last day with our Thread Caravan trip; we’re back in the Fez Medina and spent the day at the Anou Collective taking a rug-weaving workshop. It was lovely.

Check out the Anou website- they work with local artisans, using locally processed fibers, naturally dyed, and hand knotted rugs. It is a collective / co-op, owned by its members; we worked with three folks who live in villages throughout Morocco, they do shifts in Fez (and live in the co-op building during that time). I learned to do a hand-tied rug, which is a lot like weaving.

Precisely like weaving, in fact. There’s the warp threads on the frame loom, and you weave three rows of plain weave between each row of knots. I knotted and wove and got help with my design and knotted and got help and wove and got help and after a few hours of work, I’d made a row with eight rows. Chrissy did seventeen, but hers were a little narrower. But not half my width, she’s just a more skilled weaver already, so she was pretty speedy.

Have to say; I really enjoy weaving these little rugs. Enough to consider getting the kit to take home, but there’s nowhere that it would go in my bag, which is already entirely too full of stuff. We’ve both got two ceramic objects that we made, plus a few extra knickknacks. We did also buy three rugs while we were in the showroom. I mean, they’re gorgeous. But they’re getting shipped, so it will be a lot simpler.

Also: Chrissy says hi!