- Many Navajo weavers shear the their own wool from a herd of sheep. The use of large manual shears rather than electric shears allow weavers without electricity to get the job done since not all homes offer electricity. Shearing takes place in the spring, so the sheep feel cooler during the coming hot summer. By winter, the sheep regrow their wool. The wool gets cleaned of debris and washed, if necessary.
- After the wool looks clean, hand carders help align the wool's fibers to allow for spinning of the yard. Hand carders consist of two handles and bent wire teeth used to brush the wool and help remove any bits of dirt, sand or other debris not caught in the cleaning process. Blending of natural color wools, ranging from white and gray to brown and tan, get blended on the hand carders.
- The creation of a fine yarn occurs on a drop spindle. Spindles consist of a long stick with a weight at one end used to twist the wool as it spins into yarn. Spinning makes the yarn finer the more times it spins and stretches. Once spinning finishes, the long strands of thin wool thread are ready for use on the loom.
- Looms consist of frames used for weaving the yarn into a final piece. Looms hold warp and weft threads in place once weaving starts. Warp threads consists of vertical threads while wefts features horizontal yarns. Warps create the framework while weft threads pass over and under the warp threads to produce a pattern. Today's looms, made from either wood or metal, usually fold down for easy transporting.
- Combs, usually made of hardwood and shaped like a giant fork, help create the rug texture during the looming process. The number of teeth in the comb matches the tightness of the warps used on the looms.
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