Potala Karma / Textile stories
Threads of
the plateau.
Fibre, colour and a skill carried in the hands.
Follow the quiet work of spinning and weaving through six photographic scenes. A strand becomes yarn; yarn becomes a surface; practice becomes a tradition.
Watch the spinning process ↓
A tradition in motion
A turn of the spindle.
Watch the fibre drawn out, twisted and wound. The short film stays close to the movement of the hands and the turning spindle — a small tool, doing patient work.
01 / Thread & continuity
A thread begins with a twist
Before there is cloth, there is a length of yarn. A hand draws out a small amount of fibre while the turning spindle introduces twist. The movement joins loose fibres into a continuous strand; the spinner works by touch as much as by sight. Across Tibetan textile traditions, sheep’s wool and yak fibre have both been spun by hand. The fibre used for a particular object depends on its purpose and local practice.
02 / Thread & continuity
The loom becomes a place to gather
A courtyard becomes a workspace. The loom stands among people, houses and everyday activity, its long threads held in place while hands guide the weaving. Textile work belongs to that lived setting: a sequence of small decisions made while conversation and daily tasks continue nearby. Tools remain close at hand, and the work advances a little at a time.
03 / Thread & continuity
Two directions, one surface
The warp is the set of lengthwise threads held under tension. The weft travels across it. Opening a path through the warp, passing the weft and settling each new row creates the woven surface. Changes in colour, thread order and spacing shape the pattern. The photograph lets the structure remain visible: stretched dark threads, wooden tools and a concentrated movement of the hand.
04 / Thread & continuity
Material, held close
Spinning asks for a steady relationship between the amount of fibre drawn out and the twist entering it. Small differences in those movements change the character of the yarn. Here, loose dark fibre, a spindle and the nearby loom share an ordinary working space. The sequence is tactile and patient: draw out a little fibre, let the twist travel and wind the finished length onto the spindle.
05 / Thread & continuity
Cloth keeps the memory of making
Seen close up, woven cloth is a field of crossings. A stripe carries a choice of thread; a slight irregularity records the rhythm of making. Woollen textiles have long been used in Tibetan clothing and household life. Pulu is a Tibetan woven wool fabric, and museum collections also preserve striped Tibetan wool aprons. These rolled lengths invite attention to grain, softness and the repeated rows that form a surface.
06 / Thread & continuity
A skill carried into the day
The spindle is small enough to travel with the work. In this scene, thread-making shares the day with a doorway, animals and the open air. The cultural value of this craft lies partly in that continuity: knowledge is held in repeated gestures and passed on through observation and practice. A woven bracelet offers a contemporary way to notice thread, colour and the care of a hand.
