Khamida Kutdusovna

About the craftswoman

Khamida Kutdusovna, like all craftswomen of the trade, has been knitting since an early age. To be precise, at 10 she was already knitting complete down shawls of her own making.

From Bashkortostan to the Saraktash District

Khamida Kutdusovna was born in the small Bashkir village of Pugachi. She moved to the Saraktash District, the capital of down knitting, only in 1975, but she learned and honed her craft in Bashkortostan, where the Orenburg down shawl is also well known and loved.

In the 1970s, already in the village of Shishma, Khamida Kutdusovna knitted for the Voznesenskaya down-knitting cooperative. Besides knitting she worked at her main job — essentially combining two jobs while still meeting the down workshop's quota.

Over her life the craftswoman has worked with different kinds of down, but she likes Orenburg down best.

“Of course the local one is best!” she says. “It's good that now there's an opportunity to work with it again!”

Knitters' “parties”

We couldn't help asking about the so-called get-togethers of craftswomen — once widespread and now reviving meetings where friendly conversation was combined with work. To our surprise, it turned out that these get-togethers were also called “parties” — that is, the term was already in use back then.

“At a party knitting is easier and more interesting,” says Khamida Kutdusovna. “Alone it's more boring. A little competitive element… well, there was one, but we mostly supported and praised each other. We didn't keep secrets from each other either; in Shishma we readily shared techniques and patterns and exchanged experience.”

Khamida Kutdusovna's daughter also knits down shawls and has already succeeded in the craft. Of the craftswoman's 3 granddaughters, the eldest (she is 4) already knits shawl borders freely — her mother and grandmother taught her.

Gossamer shawls with beads and rhinestones

Khamida Kutdusovna herself is a master capable of the finest and most complex work. The compositions of her gossamer shawls are distinguished by filigree precision: literally every detail is calibrated and done by hand.

She is one of those knitters who take on one of the most difficult tasks — gossamer shawls with beads and Swarovski rhinestones.

“It's long and difficult, but I really like the result,” the craftswoman says. “If I spend 2 weeks on an ordinary gossamer shawl, then on one like this — up to a month.”

Khamida Kutdusovna believes that a good gossamer shawl lasts at least 30 years. She herself has several models of an even more venerable age that still look decent. The items made by her hands are also both very beautiful and durable.