Although Navajo rugs instantly spring to mind when visitors think of the artistic treasures of the Southwest, they might be less familiar with Hispanic weaving. Rio Grande blankets refer to an entire New Mexican weaving tradition that encompasses many local styles and objects from floor and wall coverings to clothing and table linens. These beautiful textiles exude Southwestern style and remain a vibrant part of New Mexico’s artisanal landscape today.

The Hispanic weaving tradition in America stretches back to the 17th century, when Spanish colonists moved north from Mexico and established communities along the northern Rio Grande. Craftspeople—including metalworkers, ironsmiths, carpenters, and weavers—played a key role in founding communities in the new land and making them thrive. Weaving was one of the most prolific crafts practiced in the preindustrial Hispanic Southwest, thanks in part to the sheer availability of wool. The culture relied on a pastoral economy based on herding the churro sheep that once numbered in the tens of thousands. From this abundant raw material, colonial Hispanic weavers—mostly women—crafted rugs, bedding, clothing, blankets, church decorations, and many other utilitarian works. Local weaving communities sprang up, including Chimayó, a Hispanic settlement that has been an important textile center for more than three centuries.

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