Procedure for looping bilum fabric among the Telefolmin of central New Guinea

Title: Procedure for looping bilum fabric among the Telefolmin of central New Guinea
Description: The step-by-step procedure for looping a flat strip of ‘open, spaced’ bilum fabric, as practised by Telefol people of central New Guinea. Steps 1–4 show how the first row of loops is constructed around the mesh gauge (ding), in a series of figure-of-eight loops with each loop connecting into the preceding one. By stage 5 the first row of loops is completed to the desired width. On completion of each row the work must be turned over so that the working thread is always on the left-hand side. In step 6 the work is thus reversed. Step 7 illustrates how a new strip of ding is inserted at the beginning of each successive row. This linear way of working, with each row connecting into the loops of the preceding one, is then repeated (step 8).
Designer: MacKenzie, Maureen A.
Date: 1991
Source: Ingold, Tim. (2000). The perception of the environment: Essays on livelihood, dwelling and skill. Routledge.
Bibliographic Citation: MacKenzie, M.A. (1991). Androgynous objects: String bags and gender in central New Guinea. Hardwood Academic Publishers.