K'uychi, Rainbow

K'uychi is the rainbow, and in the Andes the rainbow is not gentle. The weave packs scarlet against teal against gold in stripes a few threads wide, so from across the street it reads as one vivid field and up close it splits into colour. This is the cloth most people picture when they picture aguayo, and it is the loudest weave in the house.

The colours

Scarlet, teal, gold and ink, with white and violet cutting through. The stripes are narrow and the colour changes every few threads, so no two lengths carry the same order. Where a figured band runs through the stripe, the pattern is worked in by hand, thread over thread, while the cloth is on the loom.

Cut from K'uychi

It is the cloth we cut first and the cloth we cut most. On the full-weave caps the whole crown is K'uychi; on the white Paracas only the brim is, which is enough.

Pieces: Cusco, Písac, Huaraz, Maras, Paracas. See the whole collection: K'uychi.

The other families

Tuta · Qucha · Inti · Pacha · Killa. All six on the weaves. How the cloth is made and cared for: materials.