About the craft
Orenburg Down Shawl Knitting Master Classes Now in Saraktash
As is well known, knitting Orenburg down shawls was historically a craft whose skills were passed down from generation to generation, from mother to daughter, from grandmother to granddaughter and so on. Besides, down knitting was not just a profitable occupation but a serious source of income, often exceeding wages at enterprises, in the civil service and in other organisations. A whole family could survive on the money from selling unique handmade shawls. We have already written on our website about how down shawls saved people in hard times.
Unfortunately, today the continuity of generations in the families of home knitters has declined for a number of reasons. Young people rarely want to do such difficult and painstaking work and spend a lot of time creating real masterpieces of the down-knitting craft. At the same time, in our difficult era of crisis, unemployment and widespread layoffs, there are many more mature people who are very eager to learn the subtleties of the craft but did not have the good fortune to be born into a family of hereditary down knitters. And learning the intricacies of this profession (and we believe that making Orenburg shawls can, without embellishment, be called a profession) is not that easy. On your own, without the supervision of an experienced professional, it is almost impossible. What to do in such a situation? Now there is a way out.
Thanks to the efforts of Lyudmila Odinochenko, director of the Saraktash social rehabilitation centre for minors "Mayachok", and hereditary down knitter Gulfiya Chibarchikova, master classes teaching the down-knitting craft have now been organised in the settlement of Saraktash, Orenburg Region. The classes are open to everyone and, most importantly, are absolutely free.
Chibarchikova, who has taken on the role of teacher at these master classes, is a fourth-generation craftswoman. She herself expressed the wish to pass on her skills and knowledge to other people for the sake of reviving the down-knitting craft of the Orenburg Region. She explained her selfless enthusiasm as follows:
- I have sons. There is no one to pass the skill on to, so Lyudmila Anatolyevna's offer is a great joy for me. Passing my knowledge on to someone is a great pleasure. And knowing that the women who learn to knit will be able to earn additional income will be my share of participation!
To date, many people have already come forward wanting to learn the intricacies of the down-knitting craft, and enrolment continues today.
All classes are held on the premises of the "Mayachok" rehabilitation centre in the settlement of Saraktash. Perhaps you, too, want to learn to create real masterpieces of the Orenburg down craft. In that case, the doors of the master class are always open to you free of charge. The Shalnoy Orenburg artel wishes every future craftswoman good luck and sincerely thanks the organisers of the classes for their contribution to the development of one of the main crafts of our region.
Need help choosing?
Tell us who you are choosing an item for and what matters to you — warmth, lightness, size or pattern. We will suggest suitable options.
