KERAMIC STUDIO 
69 
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PIG. 4. TWILLED BASKETS OP THE CHETIMACHAN INDIANS 
To the student of technology it is charming to read in 
this connection from Ure's Dictionary, the labored descrip- 
tion of twilled loom work, with its hundreds of parts in the 
climax of a series of inventions initiated with savage 
women's figures. 
Twill or tweel. A diagonal appearance given to a 
fabric by causing the tweft threads to pass over one warp 
thread, and then under two and so on instead of taking the 
warp threads in regular succession one down and one up. 
The next weft thread takes a set oblique to the former 
throwing up one of the two deposed by the preceeding. 
In some twills it is one in three, or one in four. 
Numerous fabrics are woven in this way, satin, blanket, 
merino, etc.. When the threads cross each alternately in 
regular order it is called plain weaving, and basket makers 
of to-day also use the term braided, but in twill the same 
thread of weft is flushed or separated from the warp while 
passing over a number of warp threads and then passes 
under a warp thread as in the covered baskets. Fig. 2 and 3, 
made by the Saqui Indians of Northern Mexico, from the 
collection of Dr. A. Hedhcka. They are made of palm 
leaf strips in twilled weaving. Hundreds of these baskets 
are woven of various sizes and packed in nests and are the 
common receptacle for all sorts of articles among the Saqui. 
Especial attention is called to Fig. 3 as it is an excellent 
example of double weaving. Strips of palm leaf are 
worked in the pairs, the upper side of the leaf being outer- 
most. At any moment however, these strips may be 
separated and each member of the pair do service for warp 
and weft separately. The Saqui of Somora, Mexico, says 
Palmer, split the stems of arundinaria for basketry by 
pounding them carefully with stones. The reeds divide 
along the lines of least resistance into splints of varying 
width which are assorted and used in different textures. 
Fig. 4 represents the work of the Chetimachan Indians, 
who have their home on Grande River and the larger part 
of Charenton. They use cane chiefly in their baskets and 
all of their weaving is in the twilled style. 
Fig. 5 represents some baskets from British Guiana, 
these specimens are all of the twilled pattern, wrought from 
a brown vegetable fiber which shows the same on both sides. 
There is an entire lack of gaudy dyes in the Guiana baskets, 
the only colors being the natural hue of the wood, and a 
jet black varnish. Their pack-alls are square generally, 
the baskets and lids are the same shape, the latter being 
larger slip over the former and entirely cover it. Some- 
times the true Caribs make the basket, and lid double, and 
FIG. 5. BASKETS PliOM BRITISH GUIANA 
