Kyrgyz textiles

Kyrgyz textiles are characterized by designs inspired by nature. It is made from materials that are easy to find in and around the mountains. Felt and wool are especially common. Most of the motifs reflect the mountains, rivers, plants and animals found in Kyrgyzstan. Shirdaks are cult felt carpets, their ornaments are stylized abstract images of sheep, goats, dogs and flowers. In the production of shirdak, two felt rugs of different colors are superimposed on each other, then a sharp knife is used to cut a symmetrical pattern in them and sew the rugs into one. Hand-made shirdaks are much more valuable than those made by machine. Shirdaks are hung on walls or covered the floor. Such a rug can last from several years to decades. Tush-kiyiz - embroidered wall carpets made of soft fabrics for decorating a yurt, often used as part of a bride's dowry. The motifs are dominated by plants and flowers, sometimes by animals. Sometimes the names of the newlyweds or the year the tush kiyiz was made are embroidered on the carpet. These days, large cloths are cut into several smaller ones and used to decorate pillowcases, bags and more. The intricate embroidery and beautiful motifs make the tush kiyiz stand out among the traditional fabrics in Central Asia. Kurak - patchwork. The name kurak comes from the word "kura", which means to stitch together or compose of individual parts. Through this technique is sewn hats, baby clothes, blankets for cradles, wedding curtains, mattresses, pillows, saddle covers, bags or rugs. It is believed that the scraps have magical properties: Thus, the shirt kyrk koynok sewn from scraps of 40 neighbors for 40 days of the newborn. Especially valuable are black and white scraps that are used for geometric patterns: the eye of a camel, a crane, an amulet, a star. Ala-kiyiz is another kind of felt rugs, reminiscent of shirdak, but the manufacturing process here is quite different. While large pieces of felt are used for shirdak, ala-kiyiz is made of small pieces of felt, put one on another. The whole rug is then soaked in warm water and rolled up to join the layers. The result is a canvas with no clear boundaries, which seem to flow one into the other, creating a pattern. Although ala-kiyiz is not as strong as shirdak, its patterns are more colorful and complex. Chiy is a herbaceous plant found in the steppe, the dry stems of which are woven into mats. They can be ordinary or with some patterns. Chiy are often used in yurts as additional insulation or placed under carpets to protect against damp. These mats also play an important role in the felting process of making shirdaks and ala-kiyiz.