Class Title/Teacher: Sari Monroy Solis
Tuition: $250/Members $270/Non-Members
Class Dates: July 12 – July 13, 2025
Times: 9:30am – 4:30pm
Place: Pacific Textile Arts classroom
Number of Students: Minimum: 5 Max: 10
Materials fee: $95.00. ($80 for full pre-warped loom and $15 wood & cotton for small loom.
Class Description: Learn the fundamentals of making and using a Mayan backstrap loom! The backstrap loom is one of the oldest Indigenous technologies in the world and is still used to make some of the longest-lasting clothing. Besides being a very portable loom, it is of cultural significance to the Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and the Andes. Even today, Mayan weavers continue to make their everyday textiles with this loom.
In this weekend’s immersion, you will learn the history of the backstrap loom and how to build and weave with this loom. Students will learn techniques specific to where the teacher’s family is from – San Antonio Aguas Calientes, Sacatepequez, Guatemala. On Saturday, you will learn to warp and build a small backstrap loom to weave a small belt or strap. On Sunday, you will learn to weave on a wider backstrap loom that has been pre-warped for you and is also for you to take home.
The class will cover the history of the loom, how the body connects to the loom, the parts of the loom, and how to do plain and brocade weaving. Throughout these steps, you will learn these motifs’ names and origins and understand how to design your own patterns.
Ready to start weaving? This class will focus on simplifying the process so you can learn to weave on the backstrap loom. After the workshop, you will have access to a series of teaching videos that Sari has created so you can refresh and continue your learning at home.
Materials Included: 1) all necessary materials for making a small backstrap loom on Saturday; 2) a fully warped and ready loom for Sunday that you will also take home
List of items students need to bring: Please bring a cushion for more comfortable seating (if desired), personal snacks, lunch, a water bottle, and your reading glasses, should you need them. We will be working with fine cotton threads.
BIO: Sari Monroy Solís is a Mayan fiber artist and backstrap loom weaver living in Northern California in the Bay Area (Ohlone Lands). The backstrap loom called to Sari ever since she was a child and saw the loom her father brought with him when he migrated from Guatemala. Sari first learned to weave from elders in her home community in Guatemala many years ago when she went home to visit her grandparents’ burial site. Working with the loom inspired Sari to begin a journey of researching ancestral Indigenous fibers, dyes, and weaving techniques throughout Mexico, Guatemala, and the Andes. She teaches fiber arts and paint making with the blessing of her teachers and elders.
Sari is a weaver, embroiderer, natural dyers, and ink maker using ancestral Indigenous processes and techniques. She enjoys restoring old güipiles and documenting their stories and intricate motifs. When she is not in the States, she spends her time in community in Mexico or Guatemala with her elders. In addition to her fiber arts, Sari studies plants and their medicine. You can follow her as she continues to document ancestral traditions on IG: @theblueweaver
Questions: Email classes@pacifictextilearts.org
