The Functional Whirlpool

The woven wollen bed covers and clothes were put into the whirlpool and then the water spinned them. they were turned around with a hook and at the end they were fished out. Women were carrying them home by cart or on their backs. 

 

The textiles made by the women) of Săpânța, known as borese, were taken to be washed at the numerous whirlpools built on Săpânța river. Some of them are still in use today, like the one shown here, recreated to allow demonstrations of wool cleaning.

 

Very skilled at weaving and sewing, the women used to display their bed covers, spreads and clothes on the fence, to sell to passers-by. The bed covers were woven in colourful stripes, while clothes had specific patterns, showcasing motifs passed down from generation to generation.

 

The wool was produced in the community, but it was also purchased until a few decades ago, from the villages around Sibiu, in an area called Marginime.