• Spain is well known for its wood and yarn crafts.Basketry image by Evgeny Berdjansky from Fotolia.com
  
  Many kinds of crafts are found throughout Spain, with each region specializing in one craft: carpets and lace in Granada, impressive leather works in Cordoba, pearls in the Balearic Islands, swords, knives and jewelry in Toledo. The artesanias of Spain are also famous not just for playing musical instruments, but also for making them.
  
  

Spanish Poncho

• Ponchos come in different styles. They originally came from South America. Ponchos consist of two large sheets of textile, knitted or crocheted, which the maker sews together, leaving an opening in the middle to pull over the head. Gauchos use this kind of clothing to stay warm while traveling across wide plains. These items are also usable as sleeping blankets. Spanish ponchos usually come in any type of wool or yarn. However, some ponchos no longer come in thick materials, to make them more suitable for the hot summer season. In the fashion industry, ponchos became a popular item used to accessorize an outfit. A collection called "Spanish Gauchos," featured in Marie Claire's May 2010 edition, features ponchos that still have a touch of Spanish ancestry.
  
  

Teneriffe Embroidery

• Teneriffe embroidery is a Spanish needlecraft that involves inserting pins into a block of wood. After the crafter turns the spokes of the wheel around, he weaves the needle in between the spokes. Teneriffe embroidery is also known as pin weaving, polka spider web, and "calado canario," its traditional name.
  
  

Jarapa

• Jarapas are handmade crafts of the Andalusian region in Spain. Their crafters individually create them from strips of cotton and chenille or thin yarns. Because the Spanish crafters use recycled materials to make Jarapas, each item has a unique look. The Moors first introduced Jarapa to Spain 400 years ago. This craft is still visible in the Almeria and Murcia regions.
  
  

Castanets

• A popular Spanish woodcraft is the castanet. It is a pair of clappers shaped like a shell. A string holds the two clappers together. The dancers click the castanets together rapidly to accompany their Spanish dance movements. The word castanet originated from a Spanish word that means chestnut. This instrument also takes the names platillos, which means saucers, and pulgaretes, because there are dancers who attach the clappers on their pulgar, or thumbs.
  
  

Carved Olive Wood

• Carving olive wood is another Spanish craft. Before the crafters carve the olive woods, they dry and oil them. After the drying and oiling process, the crafters carve the olive wood into simple, functional items such as olive bowls and tapas servers. Skilled crafters turn the dried and oiled wood into tables and chairs.
  
  

Spanish Strip-Wood Basketry

• Spain, a country popular for its basketry, is a home to makers of the popular Spanish strip-wood basketry or willow basketry. The crafter use cherry wood poles heated over open fire, which they will then split lengthwise. They classify the strips according to length, and then smoothes them with a drawknife, before weaving them into baskets.