At the loom since 1972, in Ilocos Norte.
Tinubog
ti·nu·bog — dipped, thrice, in the indigo vat.
A handloom weaving house. Cotton spun by hand, dyed in tayum, woven four meters a day on looms older than the republic. Cloth with memory — made to order, never hurried.
Walk the loomi. The pattern language
Four weaves the house has kept for three generations. Each one is a sentence in thread — it says something, and it says it for life.
Binakol
The whirlwind. Squares of opposing stripes that shimmer when you move — woven to dizzy bad spirits so they leave the wearer alone.
Woven by Manang Ceferina
Kusikos
The whirlpool. Rays turning around a still center, like water deciding where to go. Woven for travelers and for people starting over.
Woven by Manong Andres
Pinilian
The chosen threads. A pick-up brocade — each motif lifted by hand, one pick at a time. The slowest cloth the house makes.
Woven by Manang Loleng
Sinan-sabong
Like a flower. A lattice that blooms at every crossing. Woven for weddings, christenings, and other beginnings.
Woven by the whole house
ii. Four passes
From boll to bolt, the same road every time. The thread below walks it with you.
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Pass one
Spin
Kapas cotton, carded and drawn out by spindle. A full day of spinning feeds about an hour of the loom. Nobody complains; the thread remembers rushing.
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Pass two
Dye
Three dips in the tayum vat, three days apart. The first dip stains. The second commits. The third is the one that stays — that cloth is tinubog.
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Pass three
Warp
1,440 ends dressed onto the beam by two pairs of hands across one long morning. A mistake here lives in the cloth forever, so there are no mistakes here.
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Pass four
Weave
The shuttle flies. Four meters on a good day, less on a humid one. The loom keeps its own time and has never once been argued with.
iii. The hands
No portraits here either. A weaver's face is the cloth — so each of the hands is shown as the pattern they are known for.
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Manang Ceferina
51 years at the loom
“My grandmother counted threads out loud. I still hear the numbers.”
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Manang Loleng
34 years at the loom
“The cloth tells you when it is wrong. You listen with your fingers.”
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Manong Andres
19 years at the loom
“People think the loom is slow. The loom is exactly as fast as care.”
iv. On the loom now
Batch 12 — Binakol blanket, full size
5 of 8 meters woven
- Pinilian table runner for a wedding in October
- Kusikos alampay, a pair sisters, matching
- Plain abel, undyed twelve meters, for curtains
The loom does not hurry. Neither should the cloth.
v. The cloth
Everything is woven to order. Prices are honest and so are the lead times.
- Binakol blanket Tayum indigo on undyed cotton 160 × 200 cm Six weeks ₱9,800
- Pinilian table runner Madder red pick-up on cotton 40 × 180 cm Four weeks ₱3,200
- Kusikos alampay Indigo on indigo, tone on tone 70 × 190 cm Five weeks ₱4,600
- Abel by the meter Undyed, as the cotton came 80 cm width Two weeks ₱680 / m
Have something woven
Tell the house the size, the pattern, and the occasion. We will tell you the honest lead time. Then the loom starts, and it finishes when it finishes.
Write to the houseThe weaving house receives visitors by appointment — the looms are working.
