colored thread; thread for cat's cradle; heddle thread
Refers to dyed or colored thread, especially used in weaving or for playing cat's cradle (あやとり). Also a technical term for heddle thread in loom weaving.
I bought colored thread to play cat's cradle.
機織りでは、綾糸が経糸の上下を制御する。
In weaving, the heddle thread controls the raising and lowering of the warp threads.
Compound of 綾 (aya, 'patterned weave' or 'diagonal pattern') and 糸 (ito, 'thread'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has long been used in weaving and later extended to the thread for cat's cradle.