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Handloom & Textile Crafts
Cloth made on hand-operated looms is the largest single family of handicraft trade, and the hardest to buy blind. Yarn count, loom width, selvedge finish and dye method change the price more than the pattern does. This section covers hand-woven cotton, silk, wool and blended cloth, along with the dyeing and printing traditions that travel with it — ikat, batik, block print, tie-dye, mud resist and natural dyeing. Buyers use it to understand what a weaver can and cannot repeat across a production run, and where the world's weaving regions differ in width, weight and finishing capacity.
What goes wrong
Handloom is the craft category with the largest authenticity problem, because powerloom cloth is sold as handloom constantly and the difference is not always visible in a finished piece. Where the story carries the price, buy against a recognised mark and see the loom. Separately, natural-dye pieces need wash and light fastness testing — traditional dyes are beautiful and frequently fugitive, and a customer who washes an indigo piece with whites will not blame the dye.
Where this craft is made
Countries with real depth in this craft, and where inside them it concentrates.
| India The deepest handloom tradition anywhere, region by region and weave by weave. | Open → |
| Peru — Cusco Andean backstrap weaving in alpaca and wool, with strong natural-dye practice. | Open → |
| Guatemala Maya backstrap weaving with distinctive village-specific patterning. | Open → |
| Uzbekistan — Bukhara Ikat and silk-cotton adras weaving from the old silk route towns. | Open → |
| Indonesia — Ubud & Bali Ikat, songket and batik traditions across the islands. | Open → |
| Ethiopia Hand-spun cotton shemma weaving with woven border work. | Open → |
| Iran — Yazd Termeh hand-weaving in wool and silk with metallic thread, on the paisley boteh pattern. | Open → |
| Bangladesh Hand-loomed cotton including jamdani. | Open → |
| Bolivia Andean weaving with regional motif systems; knitted alpaca. | Open → |
| Brazil Known especially for its vine weaving — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Cambodia Known especially for its golden silk weaving — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Canada Known especially for its weaving; textile craft — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Chile Known especially for its weaving — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Colombia Known especially for its iraca palm weaving — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Czechia Known especially for its blueprint resist textiles — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Ecuador Toquilla straw hat weaving; otavalo textiles. | Open → |
| France One of the countries where this craft concentrates — the country page carries the full picture. | Open → |
| Ghana Known especially for its kente weaving — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Ireland Known especially for its aran knitwear; tweed weaving — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Madagascar Known especially for its raffia weaving — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Mali Bogolan mud cloth; mudcloth-dyed leather. | Open → |
| Mexico Known especially for its backstrap textiles — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Myanmar Known especially for its silk weaving — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Nepal Known especially for its pashmina — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Nigeria Adire resist-dyed cloth; aso oke weaving. | Open → |
| Norway Known especially for its knitting — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Pakistan Known especially for its embroidered textiles — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Philippines Known especially for its pandan weaving — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Romania One of the countries where this craft concentrates — the country page carries the full picture. | Open → |
| Senegal Known especially for its weaving — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Spain Known especially for its esparto weaving — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Sri Lanka Known especially for its handloom cotton; batik — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Sweden Known especially for its weaving — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Thailand Known especially for its hill tribe textiles — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| Ukraine Known especially for its weaving — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| United Kingdom Known especially for its harris tweed — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
| United States Known especially for its native american weaving — the country page carries the full tradition. | Open → |
Explore this craft worldwide
| Product range and what is available | Explore → |
| Best known products by country | Explore → |
| Design traditions and patterns | Explore → |
| How to judge quality in the finished piece | Explore → |
| Telling handmade from machine-made | Explore → |
| Sizes, forms and typical dimensions | Explore → |
| Colours, finishes and surface options | Explore → |
| Price levels in the market | Explore → |
| Care, cleaning and durability | Explore → |
| Uses, styling and where the product fits | Explore → |
| Buying, minimum orders and lead time | Explore → |
| What buyers should check before ordering | Explore → |
| Geographical indications and craft marks | Explore → |
| Market demand and current trends | Explore → |
Famous names of the craft
Long-established houses of this craft worldwide. Each opens a live answer on that name.
| Harris Tweed — Scotland · protected hand-woven tweed of the Outer Hebrides | Explore → |
| Fortuny — Venice · printed and woven furnishing textiles | Explore → |
| Tessitura Bevilacqua — Venice · handloom velvets and brocades | Explore → |
| Antico Setificio Fiorentino — Florence · historic silk weaving mill | Explore → |
| Rubelli — Venice · furnishing silks | Explore → |
| Prelle — Lyon · historic silk weavers | Explore → |
| Tassinari & Chatel — Lyon · historic silk house | Explore → |
| Jim Thompson — Thailand · Thai silk house | Explore → |
| Fabindia — India · handloom and craft retail on national scale | Explore → |
| Johnstons of Elgin — Scotland · cashmere and woollens | Explore → |
| Avoca — Ireland · hand-weaving mill | Explore → |
| Ock Pop Tok — Laos · Lao silk weaving centre | Explore → |
| Nalli — Chennai · Kanchipuram silk saree house | Explore → |
| Pothys — Tamil Nadu · silk saree house | Explore → |
| Co-optex — Tamil Nadu · state handloom weavers' cooperative | Explore → |
| Taneira — India · Tata's handwoven saree brand | Explore → |
| Anokhi — Jaipur · hand block-printed textiles | Explore → |
| Ekaya — Banaras · handwoven Banarasi house | Explore → |
Fix these before asking for a quotation
- The technique, named exactly — the process, not the look.
- The input specification: material, grade and source.
- An agreed variation tolerance for size, colour and weight.
- The finish system, including who applies it.
- The compliance regime of your selling market, identified before sampling.