OMM Redaksiyası
In Margilan, a city in Uzbekistan’s eastern Fergana Region, silk threads are transformed into brightly colored atlas and adras fabrics using traditional methods. The craft has survived changing times and is now connected with designers, exhibitions and international audiences.
In 2017, UNESCO included the program of the Margilan Center for the Development of Crafts, aimed at preserving atlas and adras-making techniques, in its Register of Good Safeguarding Practices.
According to traditional weaver Khilola Isomova, around 3-4 meters of fabric can be woven a day, depending on its length. She said she is currently working with “alo baqmol,” a high-quality silk velvet.
Isomova describes the loom, known as a “dastgoh,” as one stage in a longer production process. According to her, the process consists of about eight stages: silk is first dyed and the pattern is prepared, after which the threads are treated to prevent the colors from spreading and the pattern is woven into the fabric. Additional dyeing and finishing stages follow.
Patterns are also made by hand in another part of the workshop. An artisan dips petal-shaped printing tools covered with small needles into dye and presses them onto the fabric, gradually creating the pattern. The method highlights the key difference between traditional production and industrial weaving — its strong reliance on manual labor.
The workshop also uses large equipment, approximately two meters high, to prepare the silk threads. The mechanism processes and readies the threads before weaving. The coexistence of this large-scale equipment with handwork at other stages demonstrates the different aspects of the traditional production process.
The Margilan Center for the Development of Crafts was established in 2007 to preserve, develop and promote atlas and adras production. According to UNESCO, the center combines training programs, exhibitions, craft fairs and textile festivals to help pass knowledge and skills on to younger generations.
The center’s activities extend beyond Margilan. Training in traditional weaving and natural dyeing follows a “master-apprentice” approach, with experienced artisans passing their skills on to young craftspeople.
The city’s Atlas Bayrami festival also demonstrates international interest in the craft. More than 30 countries, including China, South Korea, France and Germany, were represented by artisans, artists and specialists at the festival’s 2018 edition. Training sessions and fashion shows linked the traditional craft with contemporary design.
For Margilan, the main question is no longer whether atlas and adras will survive. It is how the centuries-old textile tradition can retain its economic importance in the modern creative industry. At their looms, artisans continue the process as before — one thread, one pattern and one meter of fabric at a time.
