Shyrdak
Encyclopedia
A shyrdak or syrmak is a stitched, and often colourful felt
floor- or wall-covering, usually hand-made in Central Asia
. Kazakhs
and Kyrgyz alike traditionally make shyrdaks, but especially in Kyrgyzstan
, the traditional is still alive, and many of the products are sold to tourists.
Making a Shyrdak felt rug
----
It takes the wool from approximately five sheep to make one shyrdak rug. The process is slow and labour intensive. Traditionally shyrdak rugs have been made by women. Once collected the wool is picked clean washed, dried then dyed. The Shyrdak is usually designed with high contrast colours such as red and green, yellow and black, brown and white. Once the wool is dried a brightly coloured pattern is laid on to a plain background this is then soaked with soap and water rolled up and literally pressed this process is repeated. Once the pattern starts to hold the rug is reversed soaked and rolled again after some hours the shyrdak rug is left to dry. Two contrasting layers of felt are the laid on top of one another and a pattern is then marked on the top layer in chalk. This is painstakingly and laboriously cut out with the felt maker frequently sharpening the knife which will blunt quickly. This creates a stunning positive/negative style visual image usually full of symbolic motif images that represent things around them i.e. the water, goat horns a yurt etc. The felt that is cut from the top layer is not wasted and is used to create another mirror image shyrdak with the reverse colours of the original shyrdak.
Felt
Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any colour, and made into any shape or size....
floor- or wall-covering, usually hand-made in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. Kazakhs
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
and Kyrgyz alike traditionally make shyrdaks, but especially in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
, the traditional is still alive, and many of the products are sold to tourists.
Making a Shyrdak felt rug
----
It takes the wool from approximately five sheep to make one shyrdak rug. The process is slow and labour intensive. Traditionally shyrdak rugs have been made by women. Once collected the wool is picked clean washed, dried then dyed. The Shyrdak is usually designed with high contrast colours such as red and green, yellow and black, brown and white. Once the wool is dried a brightly coloured pattern is laid on to a plain background this is then soaked with soap and water rolled up and literally pressed this process is repeated. Once the pattern starts to hold the rug is reversed soaked and rolled again after some hours the shyrdak rug is left to dry. Two contrasting layers of felt are the laid on top of one another and a pattern is then marked on the top layer in chalk. This is painstakingly and laboriously cut out with the felt maker frequently sharpening the knife which will blunt quickly. This creates a stunning positive/negative style visual image usually full of symbolic motif images that represent things around them i.e. the water, goat horns a yurt etc. The felt that is cut from the top layer is not wasted and is used to create another mirror image shyrdak with the reverse colours of the original shyrdak.