For textile arts enthusiasts, New Mexico stitches together a fiber arts scene that’s hard to resist.. Whether you are a hobbyist or professional, Albuquerque goes the extra yard for fiber art. We may be biased, but there is sew much material to cover. Thread lightly ahead!
Unraveling New Mexican Textile History
Weaving, embroidery, quilting and sewing have their place along the Rio Grande. Resilient in construction and material, textiles hold cultural memory in every stitch. Fiber arts have an enduring heritage in the United States, and New Mexican textiles embed a complex story of connection, exchange and survival in their very threads.
Navajo-Churro sheep at Los Luceros Historic Site. Photo credit: Tira Howard, 2024. Courtesy of New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
In Diné (Navajo), there is an old saying: Dibé bé iiná, “sheep is life.” The Navajo-Churro sheep is one of the oldest domesticated breeds in North America, bred from the Spanish Churra sheep, and cared for by the ancestral Diné, Pueblo and Hispanic settlers since the 1600s. Churro wool was valued for its thick, resistant texture for the snowy winter. Today, it’s considered a heritage fiber — rare to acquire due to the breed’s endangered status.
Resilient churro wool is the foundation of traditional weaving in New Mexico. Out west, Navajo weavers utilized upright looms adapted from Pueblo design, creating designs that traveled hundreds of miles through Southwestern trading routes. In northern New Mexico, regional weaving styles were developed in the Spanish villages, notably in Chimayó. Colcha embroidery also used spun Churro wool dyed with native pigments to stitch elaborate designs and religious motifs into clothing and linens. Hispanic weavers and embroidery circles still gather to continue the tradition.
Contemporary colcha design. Photo courtesy of the National Hispanic Cultural Center and New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
Keep a needle’s eye out for a weaving workshop or colcha stitching class offered at the National Hispanic Cultural Center to practice this unique craft with local pros. Global fiber arts thrive right here in Albuquerque, too, at shops like Fiber Arts on 4th, a welcoming space that teaches everything from African basketry to Norwegian nålbinding for people of all ages and skill levels.
Southwestern identity is connected by these ancient threads. The All Arizona-New Mexico Shop Hop is an event under the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s America 250 initiative that stitches together the Southwestern states (once united as one Nuevo México). Spin your wheels along the Turquoise Trail all the way to the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe for a global survey of handicraft, and see a special exhibition of a New Mexican artist who stitched his principles as the world he knew unraveled. “Appearances Deceive: Embroideries by Policarpio Valencia” is open to the public through July 26, 2026.
Get wrapped up in these textile shops in Albuquerque
Fiber Arts on 4th
6463 4th St. NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM | fiberartson4th.com
Fiber Arts on 4th is a hub for weaving, basketry, dyeing and all textile arts in Albuquerque. Find a tight-knit community in their world of makers; there are workshops available for artists of all skill levels. Whether you need supplies or information, Fiber Arts on 4th has you covered.
Image courtesy of New Mexico Tourism Department.
Desert Bird Mercantile
3650 Corrales Rd., Corrales, NM & 206 1/2 San Felipe St. N.W., Albuquerque, NM | desertbirdmercantile.com
Feel the desert with Desert Bird Mercantile’s one-of-a-kind designs. This family-owned shop has locations in Corrales and Old Town Albuquerque, where you can find a wide selection of unique printed fabrics inspired by the Southwest and custom wood furniture.
Learn more about Desert Bird Mercantile’s story.
Kei & Molly Textiles, LLC
4400 Silver Ave., Ste. A, Albuquerque, NM | keiandmolly.com
Find colorful screen-printed textiles made locally with a purpose: Kei & Molly Textiles is a social enterprise that creates meaningful jobs for refugees, supporting them in their dreams with dignity and respect. Kei & Molly’s fabric menagerie includes their famous dish towels and a diverse selection of New Mexico-inspired wearables to brighten up the daily grind.
Looking to craft together?
Check out the ABQ Fiber Arts Council’s directory for groups specializing in quilting, beading, knitting, lacemaking and more.
Russell Lee, Interior of Weaving Shop, Costilla, NM, Sept. 1939. Farm Security Administration & Office of War Information Photographic Colls.: lccn.loc.gov/2017784328
