The tradition of making woven sashes

Sashes is an ancient fabrics group that has remained most abundantly to this day. They are used to adorn the Lithuanian national costume as well as other festive or daily clothes, they also serve as gifts or are used during wedding ceremonies. The extraordinary, archaic woven sashes of the Aukštaitija region have already become its trademark.

The oldest examples of woollen woven sashes found in museums date back to the end of the 19th century. However, it is thought that the roots of their simple weaving technique can be traced back to the Pomeranian and Narva cultures, which existed before the Common Era.

Although sashes were primarily used for girding as well as adorning clothes and accessories, such as skirts, aprons, underskirts, socks, shirts, and footwear, they were also used for tying hampers, baskets, and even swaddling clothes. During the wedding, an Aukštaitian bride would gift sashes to the groom’s family. She would also tie the sashes around certain homestead objects, like the gates or the well, or she would put them in the significant places at home to express respect. Aukštaitian girls still weave sashes with their fingers from woollen threads (warp) that match the colours of the other woollen fabrics in a costume: some yellow, dark violet, and black tones are added to the green and red combination. Regarding the technique, sashes are divided into those of a double heddle (either shaped as a fir tree or diamond), diamond pattern, and striped pattern threading.

With the traditional rural culture disappearing, there was less and less sash weaving and wearing. At the beginning of the 20th century they were mostly used for household purposes. However, when the national costume became popular at the end of the 20th century, they once again came into fashion. Today, though not in every family, the weaving tradition is passed down from generation to generation (usually by women, although sometimes men are also involved in this activity). The Panevėžys Association of the Lithuanian Folk Artists’ Union unites a great number of weaving professionals. Museologists, ethnologists, textile workers, and folk artists contribute to keeping the tradition by carrying out research and keeping records.

Submitters – Panevėžys Local Lore Museum, Association “Aukštaitian cultural society”, 2020

Tradition bearers – the weavers of Aukštaitian woven sashes