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In the 1870s, licensed Indian Traders began supplying weavers with factory-made yarns brightly colored with aniline (chemical) dyes. Blankets made of these colorful yarns are generically called Germantown weavings after the town in Pennsylvania where much of the yarn was produced. The Navajo returned from Bosque Redondo to a very different world; one increasingly tied to the larger Anglo-American economy and culture. Families quickly rebuilt their sheep herds and resumed production of their own hand-spun yarns, although the Churro sheep had been replaced by American Merino sheep which had shorter, greasier wool that was much harder to clean and spin by hand.
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For more than a century, the southwestern U.S. was home to the Navajo. After years of war with white settlers from other Native tribes in the West, the Navajo developed a skill that would allow them to produce one their most important creations: blankets. While many things are important to the Navajo, it is most well-known for their weaving skills. PBS says that two Spanish skills were learned by the group in the 17th century: how to herd sheep and how knit wool. They learned sophisticated weaving techniques from the Pueblo in the late 17th Century. The Navajo mastered this skill and were able to weave blankets that could literally hold water. They could be used in multiple ways, including as blankets or coats.
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Many Navajo rugs will have what Indian arts dealers call, "lazy lines." It is an inaccurate and insulting term that I hope will be replaced by the term, "Section Line." The section line line is a diagonal joint or break in the weave where a weaver has worked on a single section of the rug without having to reach all the way across the rug. She weaves one section, then moves over and weaves another section. This creates the diagonal section line. Not all Navajo rugs have section lines.

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Yes, it is a Chief Blanket variation. It combines elements the Third Phase Chief Blanket, with what are called Moqui blankets. They have black-and-blue stripes and are associated the period when many Navajos served as servants in Hispanic homes north of New Mexico. Most of the fakes and reproductions you will see are from Mexico, India, Pakistan and Ukraine. A few copies have been created in the United States. Fake rugs from Mexico use a horizontal Spanish/European-style loom. At each end, the warps are attached at the loom. Although there might be a cabled bundle at each end of the warps to ensure dimensional stability while weaving, there will not be any side cords like in a true Navajo rug. Once the rug is completed, it should be taken out of the loom.
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The Chinle style originated in the town of Chinle but is now woven everywhere in theNavajo nation. Because of its simplicity, it takes less time to weave and istherefore one of the most commonly woven rugs. The Wide Ruins style is the most elaborate and usually themost finely woven of the banded rug styles. It evolved from the Chinle. These rugs will have broad strips of plain color, some with geometric designs and with verynarrow bands with delicate motifs, combined with thin, straight lines ofcontrasting colors. The shapes found within the broader bands are oftenoutlined with a different color.


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This is a banded carpet. It would be called either an Eyedazzler or a Chinle depending on who is dazzled. Thank you for your wonderful website. It is very helpful. Our family lived around Church Rock in the late 70s. My parents bought a few rugs near "Legacy Park" as well as a few rugs from a Navajo family that weaved and lived in a hut. I can remember the mutton stew as well as the fry bread. I can't recall their names. Your help would be greatly appreciated if you could identify the type and make of the rugs.