Navajo Saddle Blankets : Textiles to Ride in the American Southwest

Navajo saddle blankets are among the most under appreciated art forms in the American Southwest, the Cinderella of Navajo textiles. Both maker and user generally have seen them as utilitarian objects to be worn out and discarded. As a result, we do not adequately appreciate them as an art form within the Navajo weaving tradition. By the same token, we tend to ignore designs and weaving techniques that are particular to saddle blankets, for this is the area where double weaves, the two-faced, the tufted angoras, and especially the twills come into their own. And finally, we miss the lively interaction of this form of textile with the great cowboy culture of the West.