Hablon

Four Mindanao weaving traditions, as a loom you can work. Press the treadles, watch the cloth build, and download what you weave as an SVG.

This is an interactive study that runs in your browser. The loom mechanics are real; the cloths are my own sketches in the manner of each tradition, not copies of real textiles. The treadled shaft loom here is a teaching device; these cloths are woven by their communities on backstrap and other looms.

T'nalak study

Pick 0 of 60

Hover or tap a thread to read it. With the cloth selected, the arrow keys move along the threads.

Choose a cloth

Made by
Place
Structure in this study

Work the loom

On a shaft loom every crossing of thread is decided by three things. The threading sends each warp end to a shaft. The tie-up, below, says which shafts each treadle lifts. The treadling is the order in which you press the treadles. Lifted ends show on top; lowered ends let the weft show.

The treadled shaft loom is a teaching device, used here to make the logic of a draft visible. The traditional cloths it is named for are woven by their communities on backstrap and other looms.

Press a treadle to weave one pick with it, or use Weave a pick to follow the pattern for this cloth. Click the squares to change the tie-up; picks you have already woven keep the shed they were woven with. The number keys 1 to 8 press the treadles.

What this is, and what it is not

  • It is a study. It runs entirely in your browser: no server, no account, and nothing you weave is saved or sent. The page does load its typeface, Newsreader, from Google Fonts.
  • The weaving logic is real. Threading, tie-up and treadling decide every crossing, and the SVG you download is that cloth, drawn thread by thread.
  • The patterns are not records. Each is a motif I drew for this page, inspired by the tradition it is named for. None is a documented design, and I have not matched them to any particular weaver's cloth.
  • The notes about each tradition are short summaries from general public knowledge. They have not been reviewed by weavers or cultural bearers and may be incomplete or wrong. Corrections are welcome as an issue on the repository.
  • Please learn from and buy from the weaving communities themselves. These exports are for study and play, not for sale as authentic textiles.
  • The name is a general Philippine word for handwoven cloth, used here as a plain title. The traditions are from Mindanao.