Hand-sewn spinning pads by Clarissa Rizal

As some of you know, we spin our warp (the vertical yarn on loom) on our thighs.  In the old days, we spun on our bare thigh, though because the cedar bark can tend to be rough, it can take the first layer of skin off, so therefore when women began to wear pants, spinning warp on blue jeans was the relief, though the blue dye from the jeans bled into the color of the warp.  However, there are some of us weavers who are innovative!  This invention that I’ve used for nearly 30 years, is from the late Phoebe Warren, grand-daughter to Chilkat weaver Jennie Thlunaut (my weaving teacher back in 1986)

Above is an example of a spinning pad I’ve made and plan on having for sale at the Juneau Public Market Thanksgiving weekend 2014. When spinning Chilkat or Ravenstail warp, these pads save the life of your jeans, they keep your leg from getting all wet (and cold!), they are smooth so no wrinkles to obstruct your spinning process and there is no residue of color bleeding into your warp…!