Lesson 1: ATTIRE, FABRIC and TAPESTRIES in high and lowlands of Luzon

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At the end of the lesson, students will
be able to:
• Analyze the elements and principles
of textile and fabric designs and
• Incorporate the design form, and
spirit of the highlands/lowlands in
your own textile design.

3. Textiles of
Highlands

4. The Cordillera Administrative
Region sits on the biggest
mountain range in the Philippines
with climates that go as 12 degree
Celsius. Because of this, people
who live here weave fabrics that
are strong and thick enough to
withstand cold temperatures.

5. The Cordillera weaving method of
textile production is made with
sets of yarns or threads that are
interlace to form a fabric. Most
designs are in red, black, yellow,
white, blue and green to represent
the colors of nature.
Patterns and texture differ in
every province depending on their
culture.

6. The term “Ikat” means to bind in the
Indonesian Language, is a woven
textile from Ifugao that has diamonds
and stripes in one or two colors. This
type of weaving uses the resist dyeing
process similar to that of the tie-dye
designs.
Ikat

8. The town of Guinzadan in the
Mountain Province is known for
weaving kadangyan burial cloths.
Kadangyan means rich people. These
These cloths are custom made for the
rich members of the province with
more intricate designs.
Kadangyan Burial Cloth

10. This is a woven skirt characterized by dominant
red stripes with yellow and black geometric
patterns of symbols that pertain to nature. The
word “Gilamat” pertains to the woven
embroidered tape and the word “ka-in” pertains
to the woven fabric with embroidery, shells or
beads. It is traditionally made in Lubuagan but is
now commonly used throughout Kalinga.
Sometimes these skirts have beads that form as
a belt.
Gilamat ka-in

13. This type of Kalinga Clothing are colored indigo
and red to symbolize the sky and earth. Yellow
triangles for the mountain and wealth and
embroidered plants that symbolizes fertility.

14. The men from Kalinga also wear a
unique type of clothing called ginamat
which is a bahag or G-string. This
clothing is usually woven in colors that
represents the tribe. Though most of
these clothing are available as
souvenirs in the market , authentic
ginamat are not sold but are handed
down as heirloom.
Ginamat

16. The people of Bontoc also wear
distinct clothing such as wanes or G-
string for men or wrap-around skirts
for women. Images of humans, star,
eye, spear, snake, and lizard are often
women into the fabric to symbolize
guidance, bravery, and other valued
characteristics of the tribe.
Wanes and Lufid

18. Textiles of
the
Lowlands

19. The Ilocos region is famous for their
women textiles made of cotton, acrylic or
polyester used as blankets, bed sheets,
pillow cases, or table cloths. These are
traditionally plain white but are now
being produced in multiple color
combinations. Designs in diamonds,
animals, flowers, and human forms with
diagonal lines and stripes.
Inabel

21. This type of textile is made from the leaves of
pineapple and it is considered the finest of all
Philippine hand woven fabric. It is usually
white, glossy, delicate, translucent, and soft.
Sometimes it is dyed in colors or embroidered
with intricate designs. It can also be mixed with
other fiber such as cotton, abaca or silk (piña
seda or piña jusi) to make it less expensive.
Piña

23. A textile also made in pineapple
fiber, this type is stronger and has a
tighter weave than the piña. It is
usually mixed with silk and appears
to be glossy. This type of fabric was
popular during the Spanish colonial
period.
Jusi

25. A modern woven fabric in Luzon is the banana –
abaca popularized by Dita Sandico Ong, who
designs this fabric into colorful wraps that are
worn by women. It has been dubbed by social
media as the “ Modern Filipiniana” because of
the way it is worn. It is wrapped around the
body to create different styles depending on
the creativity of the person wearing it.
Banaca (banana – abaca)

27. This type of weaving fabric is most popular in
the Bicol Region. It comes from the abaca plant,
which is cut, stripped, dried, and classified
according to its color, and texture: dark, honey,
tan, and cream. Cream is the most expensive.
Rugs, bags, baskets and sometimes even car
interiors can be made from the abaca weaving
process. According to the locals of the Bicol
region, the abaca is strong, shiny, and sturdier
the more it gets wet.
Abaca