lightweight scarves

Originated by the Akan peoples of Ghana, colorful kente cloth is the best-known of all African textiles. Kente cloth is woven in strips, which is how it came by its name (kente means "basket" in the Ashanti dialect). Ghana's Rachel Armah creates this colorful cotton blend scarf in cheerful shades of purple, green and yellow. She names her design nyiraba, which means "blessed child" in the Akan dialect.

In kente cloth, each color has a symbolic meaning: black symbolizes maturation and intensified spiritual energy; blue signifies peacefulness, harmony and love; green symbolizes vegetation, planting, harvesting, growth, and spiritual renewal; gold represents royalty, wealth, high status, glory, and spiritual purity; grey is for healing and cleansing rituals; maroon signifies the color of mother earth, associated with healing; pink and purple are associated with the female essence and female aspects of life; red symbolizes political and spiritual moods, bloodshed, sacrificial rites and death; silver is associated with the moon and represents serenity, purity, and joy; white is for purification, sanctification rites and festive occasions; and yellow represents preciousness, royalty, wealth, fertility, and beauty.

Woven by hand, traditional West African kente cloth becomes a colorful scarf. Rachel Armah presents a traditional design known as Edwene asa. The phrase means "all motifs are used up" in the Akan language. Each strip of kente cloth requires considerable effort, and the looms are worked with both hands and feet. Each color has its own meanings in Asante culture. Green is fertility and new harvest, gold is royalty, black is strength, aging and spirituality, and white is purity.

Bands of blue shade from pale azure to deep turquoise. Working on the backstrap loom, Maya artisans from K'amolon K'i K'ojonel transform rayon made from bamboo fiber into a lightweight handwoven scarf. Lavish fringe trims each end.

Bands of green shade from deep forest to pale lime. Working on the backstrap loom, Maya artisans from K'amolon K'i K'ojonel transform rayon made from bamboo fiber into a lightweight handwoven scarf. Lavish fringe trims each end.

Designed by Raquel and Gregor of Peru, this baby alpaca blend hand woven scarf is both lightweight and cozy warm. The scarf features a strong color palette of blacks and greys in bold color-blocked stripes with a subtle herringbone pattern. Fringe finishes both ends of the scarf. Baby alpaca refers to the fine fleece from the season's first shearing.

Designed by Raquel and Gregor of Peru, this baby alpaca blend hand woven scarf is both lightweight and cozy warm. The shawl features bold stripes of blue, turquoise, and orange with natural white accents and a subtle arrow pattern. Fringe finishes both ends of the scarf. Baby alpaca refers to the fine fleece from the season's first shearing.

Designed by Raquel and Gregor of Peru, this baby alpaca blend hand woven scarf is both lightweight and cozy warm. Subtle stripes of fuchsia, orange-red, purple, blue, green, and gold are worked with a subtle herringbone pattern. Fringe finishes both ends of the scarf.

Evoking sweet vanilla desserts, Elena Ixtamer creates a versatile shawl in rich parchment beige. She works on the backstrap loom to achieve rich textures. The Guatemalan artisan alternates solid weaves with unwoven spaces for a lightweight fabric that drapes beautifully, and adds five rows of weft threads with drawn work.