The Chichicastenango Wrap
$65
Woven wrap bracelet in hand-dyed cotton threads of jade green, indigo, and coral using traditional Mayan backstrap loom technique.
Materials
Hand-dyed cotton thread (jade green, indigo, coral), traditional backstrap loom weave
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Why Liz Chose It
“María wove this on a loom tied to her own body — her heartbeat is literally in the tension of the threads. I've never worn anything that felt more alive.”
— Elizabeth Groch, Founder
The Story of This Piece
The Chichicastenango Wrap is woven on a backstrap loom — one of the oldest textile technologies in the world, dating back over two thousand years in Mesoamerica. The weaver ties one end of the loom to a post or tree and the other around her own body, using her movements to control the tension and pattern of the weave.
The colors of this bracelet are hand-dyed using natural pigments: jade green from a local plant called sacatinta, indigo from the añil plant, and coral from cochineal — the same insect-derived dye that was once more valuable than gold in colonial trade. Each color takes days to prepare and set.
The resulting bracelet is remarkably strong for something so delicate-looking, with a tight weave that improves with wear — becoming softer and more supple against the skin while maintaining its vivid colors.
The Artisan
María Xiloj
Age 44 · Chichicastenango, Guatemala
María Xiloj is a K'iche' Maya weaver from Chichicastenango, a highland town famous for its vibrant market and deep roots in pre-Columbian tradition. She learned to weave at age six from her mother, who learned from her mother, in a chain of knowledge that stretches back further than anyone can trace.
For most of her life, María wove huipiles — the traditional blouses worn by Maya women — selling them at the Thursday and Sunday markets in Chichicastenango. But the market became increasingly dominated by machine-made imitations sold at a fraction of the price, and María struggled to support her family.
The idea of adapting her weaving for jewelry came during a conversation with Liz Groch, who visited Chichicastenango in 2022. Together, they developed the wrap bracelet format — small enough to be affordable, complex enough to showcase María's extraordinary skill. Today, María leads a cooperative of eight women weavers, and her bracelets are the cooperative's most popular product.