Andean Knitting with Nilda Callanaupa Alvarez Video Download

Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez learned from one of the last traditional knitters in her village in the highlands of Peru. Since then the skills and styles of Andean knitting have been revived in Nilda’s community and throughout the world. Join Nilda in a workshop that traces the traditions, techniques, and tools of knitting in the Andean Highlands.

Focusing on the region’s beautiful and distinctive chullo hats, Nilda demonstrates Andean knitting step by step, including:

• Three methods for creating the scalloped punta edging
• Tricks for managing three or more colors in stranded knitting
• How to work in the round from the inside of the piece

Nilda also talks with Long Thread Media cofounder Linda Ligon about the cultural significance of Andean knitting: what items are traditionally knitted and by whom, how patterns and variations indicate the origin of a knitted piece, and where chullos and other handknits are typically worn.

Learn the history and skills of Andean knitting with this video.

Founder and director of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC), Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez was born in Chinchero Village near Cusco, Peru. She began spinning wool and alpaca at age six, and was weaving her first patterns by age seven. She is the author of Weaving in the Peruvian Highlands (Thrums Books, 2007) and Textile Traditions of Chinchero: A Living Heritage (Thrums Books, 2012). Through the CTTC, Nilda works with Peruvian weavers to preserve their textile heritage and to create a world market for their textiles and a new economy for their communities.

If you'd like to purchase the streaming version of this video, visit: Andean Knitting