Te Rā, the only known surviving example of a traditional woven Māori sail still in existence is visiting Aotearoa New Zealand. As I and two other weavers from Te Āwhina roopu raranga (weaving group), Motueka, are about to embark on a project to weave a sail for a local waka (boat) business, we were keen to study this sail up close. We heard that the sail would be available to view at the Christchurch Art Gallery, so we quickly booked tickets to fly down to Ōtautahi Christchurch for a day visit. The sail, named Te Rā and personified as female by distinguished master weaver Ranui Ngarimu, has been in the British Museum for over 200 years, her provenance unknown.
At the art gallery we were taken into a private study and work area where the sail was laid out on a long set of tables. What struck me at first sight was the beauty and fineness of the weaving, the width of the weaving strips being between 0.3cm and 0.4cm, unusual for such a large piece of weaving. For a piece that is 4.4 metres long, 1.0 m across the base and 30 cm across the top, this is a lot of fine weaving. Stripes of an openwork pattern running the length of the sail enhance the plain over/under weaving, adding to its delicate appearance.
As we were able to see and handle both the front and the back of the weaving, we were able to study techniques that have either fallen out of use or were used specifically for the sail. For example, the edges are finished with a twice-folded hem which is stitched in place with twisted harakeke (NZ flax) cord, the panels are joined in an unusual way, and various types of cord are used to tie on the feathers. This was good information for our group as we work on weaving the replica sail.
A number of other weavers and interested people, such as sailors and artists, were present to learn how this ancient sail has been woven, perhaps for the sake of weaving a sail themselves, or perhaps to use a technique in other weaving.
For all this study and replication, Te Rā remains a mysterious lady. Whose hands wove her? Where was she woven, was she used on a waka (boat)? If so, which winds did she embrace to speed the waka across which waters? Her fineness gives her an aesthetic and delicate beauty. This, plus her utilitarian, robust purpose make her an ‘artwork extraordinaire’, as Ranui Ngarimu describes her. Te Rā is a true taonga (treasure) with huge mana (bearing, influence, status) and significance for Aotearoa New Zealand.
To see a waka in full sail, using sails of similar shape to Te Rā but made with modern materials, is breath-taking, as I discovered when I saw similar sails on the waka hourua Haunui pictured here in Picton in 2019 as part of the Tuia 250 voyage.
The opportunity to see Te Rā and study her has given huge impetus to weavers throughout Aotearoa to build on the work others have started in revitalising the cultural knowledge of traditional woven harakeke sails. To see waka with woven harakeke sails plying our waters as a natural scene is a future I look forward to.
I appreciate the efforts of Ranui Ngarimu, Donna Campbell and Catherine Smith who were instrumental in bringing Te Rā home to Aotearoa for those interested to appreciate and study her. This group has been studying scientific as well as practical weaving aspects e.g. they have definitely identified the material as harakeke by DNA testing and have closely studied the techniques used in weaving Te Rā. A second group, Te Rā Ringa Raupā, including Maureen Lander who instigated it, Ruth Port, Mandy Sunlight and others, have studied the construction methods and recreated their own sails.
Te Rā is on display at the Christchurch Art Gallery, Te Puna o Waiwhetū from 8th July to 23 October 2023 and then at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum. You can also read more about Te Rā here.
© Ali Brown 2023
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In my 
The first group is a group of eight learner weavers, who are all staff at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Ara Hou in Ahuriri / Napier, Hawkes Bay. Misty Hooper, at the back right in the image, applied on behalf of the group and says that their group just started this year and they meet monthly. We hope the books will guide you in your weaving and I look forward to seeing your weaving as it progresses.
The next group is from Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland. Cathy, wearing the pōtae, wrote, “I run a group called 
The third group is based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington. Irihāpeti Hokianga Te Aho, on the right in this photo, wrote “I offered to run four weaving sessions, and due to their desire and having no funds, I was able to get the support of The Tuhunga Rau and Raukawa community centre to have a weekly free Sunday weaving session. I am offering my time for free … and am here to guide them in connection to harakeke and learn what they would like to learn. It is real beginners, but we do have a few advanced weavers in the mix.”
Kenney Jean wrote in support of their application “It is the most beautiful atmosphere of people ranging from the curious to the ‘I’ve always wanted to try’, to proficient weavers, and every thing in between. It’s the first time there has been a gathering like this on Motukairangi / Miramar Peninsular. EVERYONE who attends would LOVE to be able to dip into your taonga pukapuka. Its a kind, safe space to explore ones journey into mahi raranga.” What a great-sounding roopu raranga this is.
When I wrote a 
There are many ways to weave a star and I show a couple of them 
This method of making the star uses two strips of flax together so that each side of the star is shiny (flax has a shiny and a dull side), but it’s not necessary to use two strips. To make the star, (this one is about 12 cm across), select two long strips of flax that are .5cm wide and tape them together at the base, so that the shiny side is on the outside on both sides.
Using the two strips as if they were one strip, make a fold out to the left about 10 cm down from the tape.
Next, measure across 10 cm from the fold and make another fold back up to the left at about the 10 cm mark, with the strips going over the top of the strips where you started.
Fold the strips back down again so that there is a point made at the fold and take the strips under the first section of strips. Take it over the second section of strips, making a second point for the star. Make sure the points look the same size.
Fold the two strips, so that there is a point made at the fold of the strips, back up to the start where they are taped, going under the second section of strips and over the third. This makes the last three points of the star.
Adjust the points so they are all an even size and match each other.
Addition July 2023: At a recent workshop for a Grandparents Raising Grandchildren group, I printed out some star outlines on sheets of paper for people to follow with their flax strips, which made it easier to keep to the star shape. One participant, Wai, also suggested using pegs to keeps the points in place which worked well and we used a little bit of tape here and there to keep the shape until the harakeke dried out. A great Matariki project for even young children with help on hand. It helps if two people work together for the first one or two.
In the last few months I’ve spent time upgrading my flax weaving website. I wanted to do this for a couple of reasons. First, to make the site secure, and second, to make it more mobile friendly.
While upgrading the site, I decided to upgrade most of the hundreds of images so that more of their detail can be seen. Also, some of the images next to the instructions for flax weaving projects have had arrows added so that the project steps are easier to follow. For example, I think you’ll find the instructions for 
Some of the pages have a version in te reo Māori as well as English. Wi Pohatu has very generously been translating my webpages and these are available as a resource for people learning te reo Māori, the idea being that the images will help with understanding the text. I’ve found that I am starting to understand more of the translations the more I study te reo Māori myself.
Do have a look at the 
The book I’ve been writing, Fun and Functional Flax Weaving, is now available for sale through the 
Weavers of all levels will find something to spark their interest. Even though many projects can be achieved by those with little or no weaving experience, there are also projects which require previous weaving knowledge — for those who want to extend their weaving repertoire or who like a challenge.
Different techniques are used in each project and so it’s also suitable for a course book — as well as for individual weavers and groups. Buyers of my previous books have commented positively on their easy-to-follow, step-by-step illustrations beside the written instructions. You can see a link to these comments under each 
If you buy the book, do post a comment below if you can see how it might be improved, or post a question if any of the instructions are not entirely clear. Also if you have any photos of your weaving based on projects from this book, I’d love to see them.
The book can be purchased directly from me, along with my other books, Weaving Flowers from New Zealand Flax, Weaving Baskets, Backpacks, Boxes and Other Projects and Weaving a Large Container from New Zealand Flax, either singly or in a set of 3 or 4 of the books, (which incidentally makes for savings on postage charges), from my 
Traditionally flax weaving is woven on the diagonal rather than vertically and horizontally, as in many other weaving traditional weaving styles and I’ve noticed that new flax weavers often struggle when they’re trying to get tidy, even diagonal weaving. One of the trickier things for a new weaver is how to work out if the weaving is all at the same level — or how to find the ara or path of the weaving. As weaving is completed row by row, as in knitting for example, working this out is a basic skill that’s essential to master if you want to progress in weaving. It’s also essential if the weaver wants to achieve a straight edge at the top of the weaving, as illustrated in the kete here. Steps on how to achieve even, diagonal weaving are illustrated here using red and white arrows — the red arrows show the current movement and the white arrows show previous movements — as well as steps to take if a particular strip is too low or too high.
Select two strips so that the one pointing to the right (the purple one) is under the one pointing to the left (the green one). Pull the strips up gently but firmly to firm up and tension the weaving.
Once the strips appear to be tensioned firmly, fold the purple strip that is pointing to the right back down to the left. This is the height that all the strips will be matched to.
Move on to the next set of two strips, one green and one purple and pull them up gently but firmly as before to tension them. (The white arrow shows the previous strip that was folded back.)
Lay the strip pointing to the right back down, following the red arrow, checking that it’s at the same height as the previous strip folded back. Carry on doing this all the way around the top of the basket.
If a strip folds down lower than the others, as the lower purple one has here, then it will need to be woven up to reach the same height as the others.
To weave it up to the right height, fold back the green strip from the right that is the second green strip above the strips that has folded down lower than the others.
Bring the purple strip that was folded back forward again, so that it’s pointing up to the right.
Bring the right-hand green strip over this purple strip so that it’s pointing up to the left. The two strips are now up to the same height of weaving as the rest of the weaving.
When the purple strip is folded back down over the green strip, it is now at the same height as the others.
If the strip folds down higher than the others, as this purple one has here, which is folded back over two green strips instead of one, then this bit of weaving will need to be undone and woven again.
Bring the purple strip forward again and then pull the green strip pointing to the left back down out of the way.
The purple strip can now be folded back down on the correct green strip and is at the same height as the other top purple strips. You can now carry on weaving, making sure you are weaving row by row around the item, and then moving up to start a new row. The weaving used in these diagrams is one over, one under weaving and is applicable only to this style.
Following on from the first page translated into te reo Māori on my website, 
Wi also suggested adding a glossary to the translated pages, which is a great idea and I’ve added the glossary he provided at the bottom of the page. I find it very helpful and even if I’m not at the stage with my own te reo Māori to be able to fully read the translated page, I enjoy learning more weaving words in te reo Māori. For those of you who are also learning te reo Māori, I do hope you find these on-line flax weaving instructions in te reo Māori a useful resource and I’d appreciate any suggestions or feedback.
The 2019 Weavers National Hui, held over four days at Labour weekend at Ngā Hau e Whā National marae in Ōtautahi/Christchurch was a terrific success in my view. Thanks go to the organising group including Ranui Ngarimu and Paula Rigby and the many obliging volunteers, who put together a weekend of weaving, knowledge sharing, forums and visits to sites of interest. The delicious food served up by Te Rūnanga o Ngā Maata Waka completed the enjoyable experience.
One of the highlights was the presentation of two groups studying Te Ra: The Māori sail, which is the only known Māori sail left in existence and is held by the British Museum. One group is studying the sail from a practical weaver’s approach, working out the weaving techniques used to weave Te Ra. With this knowledge they hope to recreate a traditional sail. At the hui, members of the group were weaving samples using very fine weaving strips. The techniques include open-weave sections that allow the wind through the sails. Follow their progress on 
Several people commented on the koru pendant I designed a few years ago and was wearing, so I showed them how it’s made. One kuia was interested to weave this pendant as she was weaving items for tourists and thought the pendant was small and light and is easy to carry in luggage. If you’d like to make one yourself, check out my blog post 
This year, the exhibition at National Hui celebrated the weaver and kete — a kete made by the attendee, or one brought, gifted or inherited. The stunning display of kete in this exhibition showcased the wide variety of designs, patterns and weaving techniques that encompass the weaving of the past and present. I don’t have permission to use images of the ketes in the exhibition, apart from this one which is the first kete whakairo, or patterned kete, I wove many years ago. The pattern is Koeaea and represents whitebait swimming.
I’m pleased to say that my online instructions for Weaving a Flower from New Zealand flax are now available on this website in te reo Māori as 
I’ve learned quite a lot of Māori words through my work with flax weaving over the years and found that the combination of my love of weaving with my learning of te reo Māori gives a synergy to my ability to learn. I’m glad to say that I can now string some sentences together that relate to weaving. For example, “E hia nga whenu?” when I want to know the number of strips for weaving a certain piece, or “He aha te tae o te waitae?” when I want to know the colour of a dye. By the way, I didn’t record the name of the dye I used in this kete whakairo, which I do these days as it’s a very useful source of information.