Tea Party Sparkle Crios

Tea Party is a sparkly, slender belt of blue and violet cotton with metallic decorative acrylic yarns, and has a smooth feel.  It's eight feet- more than long enough to wrap around most twice. It's embellished with a blue teapot and cup charm, removable, and a braided fringe. 

This crios is a "fun party piece" and should be laundered with extra care. It will not to stand up to constant wear the way the wool Crios belt will. 

Here is my original take on an ancient form.  I make my criosanna from cotton or acrylic yarns for easy washing. My specialty is to offer this traditional belt in fashionable and  muted colors and black, to coordinate with a contemporary wardrobe, jeans or special occasion dressing. This belt is ready to ship, but if you have other ideas, I would be delighted to make one to order with your choice of colors and textures. Every crios is shipped with a descriptive card, and gift wrapping is available.

In the Aran Isles, the weaving of belts from spare lengths of wool survived as time-honored craft which originally extended back into the earliest times as a way to secure robes or trousers. The classic traditional “crios" (pronounced kris) was almost nine feet long!  The handwoven crios became popular as a craft once again in the Ireland of the 1960’s and was featured in the classic “Traditional Crafts of Ireland” (1984). 

Criosanna are popular for “handfasting” as part of a wedding ceremony, where the intended couples’ hands are gently joined with a crios wrapped around. They are a lovely, personal gift for men or women who are interested in Irish heritage, and are adaptable for width and length to suit any age or size. 

All criosanna are hand woven by me personally, and will have the odd slub or bump; these are to be expected in a handcrafted item. When washing, do so by hand and gently block the shape to dry.