Elpek Cloth Weaving / Karadeniz Ereğlisi

This type of weaving falls under the category of flax weavings. Ereğli in the Black Sea Region has reached fame with its canvas and weavings made of flax in the ancient times. In this area, humidity is much higher than in other regions.
Therefore, elpek has been used for centuries as a fabric made of flax which is known to protect the human body against humidity.

The public obtained yarns from their own flax production and used flax yarn in weaving including wefts and warps. 

Flax and elpek woven products were the main means of income for the villagers in Ereğli; however, the production of these works started to fade after the 1900s along with the decrease in flax breeding and was completely lost in the middle of the Century.
However, these works started to come to life once more after 1995. 

Elpek cloths are woven in two fashions, namely 'plain' and 'openwork'.

Cotton yarns are used for warps, whereas all types of naturally-coloured yarns can be utilized for wefts such as flax, hemp and cotton.

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