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Five | Six Textiles Collaborating to Create Modern Textiles from Traditional Ivorian Patterns

Five | Six Textiles is a collaborative project that creates modern textiles from traditional patterns woven by a collective of masters weavers in Cote d’Ivoire. The idea for the collaboration came about when Dyula weavers from Waraniéné, a popular tourist village located at the base of Mt Korhogo, met textile art specialist, Emma Wingfield who was travelling in the area. 

The weavers were looking for help with product development and getting their textiles in front of an international audience. Inspired by the conversations after her travels Emma reached out to designer Laine Henry, and together with seven master weavers formed Five | Six Textiles in 2016. 

Five | Six Textiles collections are woven from locally grown cotton that is hand or machine-spun onto hand carved spools then left in its natural colour or dyed a distinctive dark indigo blue colour. The weaving process is a highly complex one calling on techniques that have been honed over generations and said to take up to ten years to master. An upright frame loom is used to weave the cotton into long strips to create a durable cloth that resembles raw silk. Five | Six Textiles gets its name from the warp and/or weft technique used to form motifs during the process. The strips are then cut and zigzag stitched together to form the final overall pattern. 

The finished textiles are then turned into interior products such as throws, bedspreads, and cushion covers. The nature of handmade means each product has subtle differences that make it a one-of-a-kind functional art piece. And the motifs used to tell a story of a people and culture seeking to preserve their culture for future generations.

Having grown from seven master weavers to over twenty-two who produce for Five | Six Textiles the company taps into a wider collective of over 300 members led by head weaver Vali Couliblay.

– Tapiwa

Additional details:

For further information about Five | Six Textiles visit: https://www.fiveandsixtextiles.com

[Image credits: The images shown belong to Five | Six Textiles. If downloaded and used elsewhere please credit accordingly.]

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