Pua Kumba Weaving in Marik Empang!

                                                                                                            Photo: Neuberg

TSTG members recently enjoyed an evening with Nancy Ngali from Malaysian Borneo, wearing her own pua kumba woven jacket and beaded marik empang at the fantastic current exhibition called 

Endangered Textiles taking place at the Brunei Gallery in London.

                                                                                                                                                                                             Photo: Neuberg

Here's the process of the warp preparation - hundreds of white silk threads being tied with lengths of plastic rather like tie-dye - in order to prepare the weave to make a jacket or skirt.

                                                                                                                                                 Photo: Neuberg

After all those white threads are dip-dyed in indigo they are set up on a back-strap loom ready for weaving. 

The whole process takes between 3 to 5 months!

For more information on the process, there's a great introductory article in the wonderful Hand Eye magazine.