TS 13018

TS 13018 is a professional standard for the cicim weaver occupation. It addresses how this craft role is defined and classified, the minimum tools and equipment used in the profession, and the framework for measuring and evaluating the characteristics expected from people working at different levels in the occupation. In practical terms, it helps place cicim weaving within a shared occupational language rather than treating it as an informal craft title.

Where cicim weaving sits within flatweave tradition

Cicim is a Turkish flatweave technique associated with patterned surfaces created during weaving by using additional colored weft or supplementary threads. It belongs to the same broader cultural world as kilim, zili, and sumak, but each of these techniques has its own visual structure and method of building pattern. That distinction matters because a cicim weaver must understand not only loom work, but also pattern logic, thread handling, and the sequence in which design elements are formed.

Main subjects covered by the standard

• Definition and classification of the cicim weaver occupation
• Minimum tools and equipment used in the profession
• Criteria used to measure occupational characteristics
• Evaluation of those criteria

In general technical terms, standards of this type are used to give structure to vocational training, job profiling, and competency evaluation. In weaving occupations, important distinctions usually include loom setup, warp and weft arrangement, the way motifs are produced, manual skill, and disciplined working practice. TS 13018 brings those expectations into a systematic occupational framework, supporting a common understanding of what the profession entails without reducing it to a single manual task.