Handloom.. Part of the History of the Textile Industry in Syria

Handloom.. Part of the History of the Textile Industry in Syria

Damascus (ST) – Knitting on a handloom is an ancient Damascene craft dating back hundreds of years and competing the modern textile machines with the beauty and precision of manufacturing, and forming part of the history of the textile industry in Syria, which is famous for its splendor and unique external appearance.

The craftsman Bakr Khassim, continues his work in the craft of knitting on the Arab loom, which he learned from his father and uncle, who provided him with all the support and supervised his education until he mastered the profession that is threatened with extinction, due to the great time and effort it requires.

In order to preserve this craft from extinction, Khassim explained that educational courses were held to teach young women how to use the Arab loom with the support of several associations that provide the requirements and tools necessary for teaching the craft, indicating that these free courses will continue, and that 20 young women were taught this craft during the past year.

Khassim explained that handloom products are exported to many countries around the world, including hand-woven rugs, authentic tents and Arab rugs in several sizes.

About the mechanism of work, Khassim said: We control the lengths with a fixed width of 80 cm, and connect two pieces to double the width of the piece that he weaves with different types of threads, such as natural wool, silk, velvet and dralon, in addition to cotton thread as a basic filling for the piece, noting that they own 20 looms, each of which requires a worker, in addition to sharing the work with his family to sew some pieces after they are finished weaving, which provides additional job opportunities.

Najla Khoury