This difference is one reason Awamaki’s woven and knit collections feel distinct. The material is chosen for the technique, and the technique shapes the final product.

Before the arrival of Spanish colonizers, Andean communities commonly used fiber from native camelids, including alpacas and llamas. Sheep were introduced during the colonial period and later became another major source of fiber for Quechua communities.

Sheep wool contains lanolin, a natural oil that makes it somewhat water repellent. It can vary in color and is often dyed before weaving.

Alpaca fiber does not contain lanolin, which makes it naturally hypoallergenic. It also has a hollow structure that helps make it warm, breathable, and water resistant. Alpaca fiber comes in natural colors ranging from cream and light brown to dark brown, gray, and black.

“Baby alpaca” does not usually mean the fiber comes from a newborn animal. It is a classification of especially soft alpaca yarn, often from the first or second shear of a young alpaca, or from the softest parts of an adult alpaca. Awamaki uses baby alpaca yarn for baby accessories because it creates especially soft, warm pieces for sensitive skin.

Awamaki also works with spinning cooperatives who prepare alpaca yarn for knitting. This yarn is softer, chunkier, and loftier than the yarn used for weaving, giving knit accessories their warmth and texture.

The finer the yarn, the smaller and lighter the spindle. Alpaca fiber can be especially difficult to spin because it is lighter and finer than sheep wool.

Yarn often needs to be spun more than once. Once raw wool has been spun into thread, it may be re-spun into a two- or three-ply yarn through a process called plying, or k’antiy in Quechua. This makes the yarn strong enough to handle the tension required for a tightly woven textile.

Awamaki’s spinner partners clean raw alpaca fleece by hand and use either foot-pedal spinning machines or the traditional phuska to spin yarn. The yarn they create is used for sale and for Awamaki’s knitting cooperatives.

Spinning is often one of the first parts of the textile process that children learn. In Quechua communities, textile knowledge is learned through participation in daily life.

Materials such as cochineal, chilca, and kinsukuchu can create reds, pinks, greens, turquoise, and other tones. These colors connect the finished textile to the landscape and knowledge of the surrounding communities.

Cochineal, a dried insect, can create shades of red, orange, pink, and purple. Chilca, a local plant, can create greens. Kinsukuchu, a tiny fungus that grows on a plant, can create bright turquoise blue.

Natural dyeing requires knowledge of local materials, timing, temperature, and proportion. Small changes can affect the final shade.

It is also important to understand that natural dyeing is not the only tradition in use. Many artisans still prefer synthetic dyes for textiles used by their own families because synthetic dyes are faster, brighter, easier to produce, and more resistant to fading during agricultural work.

Over the past two decades, renewed global interest in natural dyes has helped support the recovery and continuation of natural dyeing knowledge in the Patacancha Valley, especially for textiles made for tourism, export, and fair trade markets.

Backstrap Loom Weaving

Backstrap weaving is an Indigenous Andean technique passed down through generations. The loom is simple in structure but requires great skill to use.

One end of the loom is tied to a fixed point, such as stakes or a tree, while the other end is attached to the weaver’s body with a strap around the waist. The weaver controls the loom’s tension by leaning forward or back.

To begin, the weaver creates the warp, the vertical threads that form the structure of the textile. She winds the threads between two poles and arranges them into two layers. These warp threads loop around rods at either end of the loom.

Before weaving begins, the weaver creates the cross, which keeps hundreds of warp threads in order. She also creates heddles by picking up threads from the bottom layer and threading them through loops on a stick. These heddles help separate the layers of warp threads as she works.

For each new row, the weaver passes the weft thread horizontally between the layers of warp threads using a shuttle, often a small stick wrapped with yarn. Although the weft is not always clearly visible in the final textile, it still affects the color, tone, and structure of the finished piece.

The weaver must manage tension, keep the warp threads organized, open the shed between the thread layers, pass the shuttle, and beat the rows into place using a stick or polished llama bone. All of the textiles used in Awamaki’s woven products are handwoven on backstrap looms, making each piece one-of-a-kind.

Knitting

While weaving is Indigenous to the Andes, knitting was introduced by European colonizers and is now widely practiced by women in rural Andean communities.

Awamaki works with knitting cooperatives including Puente Inca, Rumira, and Puka Rosas to create alpaca accessories, baby products, and winter collections.

Knitted garments such as chullos, or warm men’s hats, have become an important part of traditional dress in many communities.

Awamaki’s knitting partners hand knit products in their homes, and Awamaki uses a rotation system to distribute orders and income among artisan partners.

Because knit accessories require loft, softness, and warmth, Awamaki’s knitting partners use alpaca yarn rather than the taut sheep wool yarn used for weaving. Awamaki’s knit collection uses 100% alpaca yarn, making the products warm, breathable, hypoallergenic, and naturally water resistant.

Common pallay in the Patacancha Valley include lakes, flowers, birds, llamas, and figures connected to Andean history and identity. These patterns are passed down through families and communities.

The word pallay is connected to the act of picking up threads to create patterns. Creating pallay requires intense concentration and technical control.

The weaver must manage the tension of the loom with her body, separate the warp layers, pass the weft thread, keep the shed open, and pick up the correct threads to form the design.

Many designs are unique to the region or even the village where they are made. Because of this, handmade Andean textiles cannot be understood only as products. They are also records of knowledge, place, and identity.

For buyers, this is part of the value of Awamaki textiles. Each piece connects material quality with cultural meaning, artisan skill, and a living tradition carried forward by women in the Sacred Valley.