Friday, February 15, 2013

CANDY STRIPES


An integral part of the French Basque region is Basque linen or Linge Basque with its traditional stripes which used to be in a sober colour palette of red, green and cream. Traditionally there used to be seven stripes on the linen: one for each province of the Basque region- three in France and four in Spain.



They say that the origins of the linen was  in the Middle ages when weavers went door to door and made small linen squares to protect the cattle from insects called  La mante a boeufs!


 I  visited the Tissage Lartigue factory and showroom in the village of Ascain, near St Jean de Luz, who have been making this linen from 1910.


They use cotton threads of 65 colours and create cushion covers, bags, bread holders, runners in a striking palette of candy colours in stripes.



I loved the fully mechanized looms that we saw and also workers tailoring the linen into bags, spectacle cases, runners.



Just some of the things that I adored:






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