Crios Belts

An Irish Crios (pronounced ‘kris’) is a multi-coloured woollen belt. Traditionally it is woven from wool of six colours, often with a white border. The belts were worn by the men of the Aran Islands, off the west coast of Ireland. The Irish word for a belt is ‘crios’. The Crios, as we know it, was woven by the Aran Island women, using their feet to stretch the warp for weaving. These Irish Belts are an iconic part of our textiles heritage.

The Christy Crios Story

‘Christy Crios’ belts are woven on a loom which Liz inherited from a property clear-out in Co. Sligo. The owner of the shed wanted the four shaft floor loom ‘to go to a good home’. So Liz gladly obliged and used it to perfect the design and weaving of ‘the crios’, encouraged by Kitty Joyce, her friend and mentor from Cleo’s in Dublin.

We make the belts using the lovely flecked tweed wool, spun in Co. Donegal. When Liz wants a special colour for a crios she hand-dyes the natural coloured or ‘báinín’ wool, usually set up on the loom to weave a batch of six per colourway.