Velluters (velvet weavers) and silk

What it is and technique

Complete silk chain in Mallorca: breeding the worm in a mulberry leaf, obtaining the cocoon, twisting the thread and weaving. Velluters wove vellut (velvet) and other silks on looms. It arrived late, in the 16th century, with the help of Valencians and Catalans.

Process step by step

1. Breed the silk cuc with mulberry leaf.

2. Fer la botja: bower where the worm goes up to spin the cocoon.

3. Triar cocoons (yellow ones, better than pink and white ones, according to Agustí, 1617).

4. Spin and twist the silk (silk twisters).

5. Weave the vellut on a loom, with the cut hair that gives it texture.

Forms and objects

• Velvet and silks for city clothing, church and trousseau.
• Vellut loom (to verify specimens preserved in Mallorca).

Vocabulary

• velluter: who made or sold velvet (majorcan doc. 1573 and 1623, BSAL).
• vellut: velvet.
• botja: bower where the worm spins the cocoon.
• capell / capoll: cocoon of the worm.
• torcedor de seda: one who twists the thread.
• cuc de seda: silkworm.
• morera: tree whose leaf the worm eats.

Geography

• Sóller: first documented crops (1527).
• Palma: workshops of velluters and twisters.
• It spread to other towns (to verify which ones).

Short story

• 1527: first documented silk crops in Sóller.
• 1578: the Valencian Miquel Magraner receives a subsidy from the Gran i General Consell to teach twisting.
• 1591: the Catalan Pere Pau Gallard, subsidized by the Jurats, installs vellut looms.
• 1611: the col·legi de velluters is established; patron Saint Bonaventura.
• 1685: col·legi dels torcedores de silk.
• 1689: the guild of velluters is divided between xuetes ("velluters del carrer") and cristians de natura.
• 18th century: fourteen rolling masters with an open workshop.

State

Missing. The artisan repertoire retains the velluter category, without registrations in Mallorca in the consultation of 10/13/2026.

Why is it design

• Industrial policy of the 16th century: the Consell matters knowledge with subsidies; design of an economy.
• From tree to fabric: complete system on an island.
• Social footprint: the trade was also a border between communities (xuetes).

For the project

• Trace historical mulberry trees in Sóller and towns (silk landscape).
• Contemporary silk fabric with Mallorcan ikat (cross with llengües stole ).

Sources

• ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seda
• ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vellut
• enciclopedia.cat/gran-enciclopedia-catalana/velluter
• dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?Word=velluter
• dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?Word=botja
• dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?Word=torcedor
• caib.es/siciefront/artesania/index.jsp?idioma=ct

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

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