TIBEB
Ethiopian Traditional Weaving Art
Tibeb is a term used in Ethiopia to describe the pattern or decoration
made by either handweaving with supplementary weft into the border of
the shdmma (or shemma) or hand embroidering the same. Tibeb designs are
woven using continuous extra weft of one or more different colors, and
as the making process is time-consuming contemporary weavers use
discontinuous wefts of many colors.
weavers have integrated the “Tibeb” design into larger patterns, with
these traditional clothes signifying religious identity as well as
ethnic identities in different areas of the country.
The raw weft materials used for Tibeb patterning are yarns of cotton,
silk, metallic, rayon (saba which is twisted rayon), acrylic, and
wool.
In the past, Tibeb designs would have been made in cotton and pure silk,
but nowadays Tibeb designs incorporate rayon floss or twisted “art
silk”, mixed to find the desired color effect.
Learn more here