INABEL WEAVING OF ILOCOS

 

The inabel is one of the many prides of the

Ilocos region in the Philippines. "ABEL" is

the Ilocano word for weave, and "INABEL" 

can be interpreted to mean any kind of

woven fabric. In the world of weaving 

however, inabel is particularly used to 

refer to textile that is distinctly Ilocano in

origin. We are proud to offer these inabel 

wovens from Laoag weavers in Ilocos.

Inabel fabric is made of cotton and may 

be plain or patterned. The abel cloth is 

well known and much loved for its soft-

ness,beautiful designs, and strenght.

Ilocos weavers use hardwood pedal looms,

employing different design techniques. The

binakul pattern, a dizzying patterns, is me-

ant to word off and distract evil spirits, pr-

otecting the weaver. Other patterns include

the multi-heddle design technique,the pini-

lian or brocade weave, the suk-suk or dis-

continuous supplementary weft technique,

and the ikat tie-dye technique. Each provide 

has its own distinct design sytle. As with ot-

her forms of hand weaving in the country,

the process of creating inabel is intricate 

and labor-intensive. Popular patterns in-

clude cat's, paws, fans, stars, and windows.

The traditional process of weaving abel 

begins with preparing the cotton,from 

picking cotton balls, removing seeds,

pounding or beating, twisting using a sp-

indle, and winding the cotton yarn into 

the skeiner. The skeined yarn is then bru-

shed to make it glossy and durable before

its wound to a bamboo spool.

One the yarn is ready, its time to prepare 

the loom.

The weaver winds the spool yarn into war-

ping reel. The warp yarn is the wound into

the warp beam rod. Next comes heddling, in

which the warp yarn is inserted through the

eye of the heddle using a weaving hook. Aft-

er that the weaver inserts the warp yarn th-

ough the spaces of the reed and "dresses"the

loom by trying the heddles behind the beater.

Only then can agabel, or weaving, commence.

Plain weaves are the most commonly pro-

duced inabel, and these are used for every-

thing from hand towels and placemats to 

blankets and dress material. In Ilocos, it 

is not uncommon for inabel to be used as 

material for everyday household items 

such as curtains, tablecloth, bath towels,

table runners, bed linen, bags, and even 

mosquito nets.

The younger generation of Ilocos are be-

ing encouraged to keep the tradition of

inabel alive. In the town of Pinili in Ilo-

cos Norte, the local government has been 

offering basic weaving courses to all inte-

rested individuals since 2018. The lessons

are presided over by Magdalena Gamayo,

one of the country's National Treasures.