LOOM New.Tradition develops clothing made from the Alentejo blanket, woven in a manual loom from the Alentejo-Portugal, and brings this tradition to the World in a contemporary manner. LOOM works with several weavers in the Alentejo region, including the Mértola Weaving Cooperative. In this sense, not only because of its historical richness, but also because the traditional textile activities in Alentejo are now at risk of disappearing, LOOM has decided to run craft workshops with local agents that continue to perpetuate these activities. LOOM’s ultimate objective is to awaken local and international interest so that this traditional activity endures.

Craft-based textile workshops

Activities/Workshops:

Weaving workshop
In this workshop, participants learn about and execute samples of fabric, woven in a manual loom. This activity includes a theoretical component, covering topics such as the fabric’s graphical representation and the initiation of outline drawing.

Dyeing workshop
In this workshop, participants learn about and execute the whole process of vegetal stamping in cloth (linen), including a field trip to identify plant species in rural Alentejo.

Spinning workshop
In this workshop, participants learn about and execute the whole process of yarn making, from washing wool to manual spinning.

Felting workshop
In this workshop, participants learn about and execute the whole process of wool felting. Carding or combing wool is a very delicate ancestral technique that works, in a simple way, with the creativity of the maker and the sensitivity of the fibers.

Guided visit to the Weaving Cooperative/Workshop of Mértola
During this visit, participants will discover the Weaving Cooperative of Mértola, the only one of its kind in the Alentejo region, whose weavers keep alive tradition, continuing to produce blankets that use the same materials and techniques as were worked more than three hundred years ago. This tradition is at risk of disappearing.

Location: Évora | Viana do Alentejo | Nossa Senhora de Machede | Mértola    Date: to announce

Language(s) available for the workshop(s): English | Portuguese | Spanish

For more information / Contact:
Website: www.facebook.com/loomnewtradition |  www.loomnewtradition.com
Email: info@loomnewtradition.com