Chief Blanket II Counted Cross Stitch Kit: Rugs of the Southwest Series

Chief blankets are the earliest established Navajo weaving style and the best known of the Classic Period. These blankets were woven as wearing apparel and were generally woven wider than long as they were designed to accentuate the wearer.

Because it was a trade good, this blanket got its name from the chiefs of the Pueblo and Plains Indians who obtained them.

The basic design of the chief blanket evolved in 4 phases.

The first phase was characterized by uninterrupted striped using brown, white, black, and blue.

In the second phase, the bands of color were broken up with red rectangles in the corners and middle.

In the third phase, quarter, half, and full-stepped diamonds were incorporated into the stripes.

In the fourth phase, the diamond motif dominated so that the stripes receded into the background.