"Weaving Lives" Museum

Visit our museum Weaving Lives on Av. Sol 603, Cusco, Peru and learn about the traditional weaving process through examples of the finest textiles from the Cusco region. Discover ancient techniques that weavers have recovered and explore textile traditions that are still being kept alive. The museum Weaving Lives provides a unique look into how textiles are used on a daily basis and throughout the lives of the people of Cusco. It’s a great stop for textile enthusiasts, families and the intrepid traveler alike.

Gallery Room One: The Traditional Weaving Process

Move through each step of the weaving process beginning with spinning alpaca, sheep, or llama fiber on a pushka, or drop spindle. Explore the many different native plants, minerals and animals that are used to dye a wide variety of bright colors and how to warp this naturally dyed yarn for the backstrap loom.

Gallery Room Two: Techniques, Designs, Styles

From ticlla discontinuous warp and weft to wasa watana intersected warps, the ancient peoples of Peru invented dozens of original techniques and designs found nowhere else in the world. Learn more about the unique and highly complex textile techniques developed in the Andes and how they are incorporated into the ponchos and blankets that people use daily for a variety of needs.

Gallery Room Three: Dressed to Impress, Matrimony

Traditionally, young people spent their teenage years learning all of the designs and techniques of their community, preparing their wedding attire from their finest pieces. Only once they were accomplished weavers and had finished their outfit, were they eligible to find a life partner. Weighed down under pounds upon pounds of the finest textiles, an Andean wedding is a feast of color and design.

Gallery Room Four: Dressed to Impress, Festivals, and Ceremonies

Each community celebrates different festivals and ceremonies that revolve around ancient customs, crops and various aspects of the natural world. Every celebration requires different traditional costumes that define the purpose of each participant. From elaborate head dresses, to swirling skirts, colorful textiles dominate the scene.