Amongst the most distinctive Kyrgyz crafts features the traditional design and manufacture of carpets made from felt - Ala Kiyiz and Shyrdaks.
Both Ala Kiyiz and Shyrdaks make interesting carpets. Traditionally they were used to ecorate the yurt but also made valuable presents, constituting an essential part of the dowry.

The art of making these carpets is still practiced widely throughout Kyrgyzstan; each region having it's own style and decorative pattern.

Wool is dyed in different colours. It is not spun into a thread or made into a felt blanket but kept in a bag as loose wool. A background is laid out taking wool of one colour and placing it on a mat of chiy- long grass reeds - on which a felt base has been stretched. Strands of other colours are then laid on top to create a pattern or picture. The resulting mat of loose wool can be several inches thick. Next the wool is covered with a cloth so that it doesn't move and sprinkled with hot water. The chiy mat is tightly rolled and tied up. This roll is now taken to an open space and squeezed using hands, elbows, feet, kicked and trodden on for several hours. This process melds the wool together into a friable whole. The mat is then unwound and the wool carpet left to dry.

When the wool has dried it becomes apparent that the colours have partly "washed out" - and the borders between them are less well defined - giving the individual motifs and the carpet as a whole an individual and unique appearance.

An Ala-Kiyiz carpet can vary in size examples measuring 3m by 1 m or 4m by 2.3, are quite common. Usually there is a large central pattern surrounded by a narrow border area. The pattern in the central area shows a motive of horn-like curls, (called "muyuz"). A wide variety of colours are used such as reds, blues, brown, yellow and orange on a dark black or grey background.

Because the wool is not stitched, but is melded together Ala-kiyiz are not as sturdy as Shyrdak carpets, having only about half their life span. However, the advantage of the Ala-Kiyiz though.

It's quicker and easier to produce and thus much more readily available.
The technique is increasingly used for trendy "picture" panels, which make great, easy to carry souvenirs.

Shyrdaks in spite of their more complex production process are also very popular. In many ways they represent a sort of felt mosaic with different pieces of coloured felt combined tocreatean overall design.

The motifs used in designs vary but they usually depict Mother Nature; a flower, the mountains, the waters of Lake Issyk Kul, a dog's tail...

Sheep wool is pressed into flat sheets of felt then dyed in different colours. Although natural dyes were traditionally used, derived from plants and solids, they have been replaced by chamical dyes in a range of strong, vibrant colours.

Lately, designers have applied the ancient technique to whole collections of beautiful pillowcases, hats and fashionable, very wearable jackets, which will make heads, turn in London, Paris, Zurich, Frankfurt, Tokyo, New York.

When the panels are sewn together, to make a larger one, a pleasing, symmetrical, mirror image is created.
Once several panels are completed, they are sewn onto yet another piece of fell which serves as a backing, like a "quilt"; indeed the name "shyrdak" is derived from the Kyrgyz word "shyryk" which means quilting" since it is the quilting which gives the finished carpet both thickness and strength.

The process of manufacturing a shyrdak is very labour intensive; it takes several months to complete one shyrdak - but the reward is a carpet that is strikingly unique and durable.

The classic shyrdak measures about one and half meters by three, but a panoply of sizes are now available.
Lately, Designers have applied the technique to whole collections of beautiful pillowcases, hats and fashionable, very wearable jackets, which will make heads, turn in London, Paris, Frankfurt, New York.