154 INDIANS OF THE SOUTHWEST. 



a more i)riniitive means ever having been employed. 

 The spindle, however, is the same as that found in cliff 

 ruins. It consists of a small stick at the base of which 

 is a wooden disc to give momentum and facihtate the 

 winding of the yarn. 



The loom is a simple frame in which the warp is 

 placed vertically. The weaving is done beginning 

 at the bottom, the blanket being lowered as the work 

 progresses. No shuttle is used; the yarn is inserted 

 with the fingers or by the aid of a small stick. The 

 w^oof is forced down by pressure with a fork or by the. 

 blow of a batten stick. The weaving is peculiar in that 

 the woof strands of a particular color are not carried 

 entirely across the blanket, but only as far as that color 

 is required for the design. It is then dropped and 

 another color taken up. 



In plain weaving the warp is divided into two 

 divisions or sheds by attaching alternate threads by 

 means of loops of yarn to two small sticks. The sheds 

 or sets of warp strands are separated by pushing down 

 a small rod and crossed by pulling up on the stick to 

 which the loops are attached. 



Diagonal weaving is done by making three instead of 

 two sheds, by this means every third strand of the 

 warp can be lifted and a raised pattern is made with a 

 slope to one side or the other. By reversing the direc- 

 tion of this slope, diamonds are produced. This style 

 of weaving is used particularly in the saddle blankets. 



Sashes are woven on a similar loom which since it is 

 small is stretched on a forked stick or by fastening one 



