RESEARCH DATA:

This textile is an innovation created by Irene Joy Bawer-Bimuyag of Kalinga. It features a base textile with the common stripes found in Kalinga skirts, such as the nilabey or lilabey, which refer to the vertical lines. The term nilabey or lilabey is derived from the word “labey,” meaning “dirty white.” The name may also refer to the technique used to create the weave, in which the thread is simply “twilled in a circle” or in “labay” (“Kalinga,” 2011). The striped textile is heavily embroidered using the traditional Kalinga embroidery technique, with new and innovative design elements. The embroidery features a bamboo-like design with colorful leaves stemming out of the bamboo body. The bamboo shoot embroidery design also serves as the textile joinery that attaches the two panels of the textile.