Cloth Fragment

Length of cloth woven from abaca (banana fiber) and cotton. Squares outlined in blue, brown, white cotton thread. Plain weave. Torn in many places, holes. Tags attached read: (1) “SINAMAY CLOTH / Made of abaca and cotton. / Woven by hand. / Used for making clothing. / Philippine Islands.” (2) “Sinamay / abacá + cotton / Santa Barbara, Iloilo / P. 9.” In the Philippines, fabric woven from abaca is known as sinamay. Sinamay was used in the 1800s to make a variety of garments, such as ankle-length skirts called saya and wrap-around skirts called tapis. Displayed at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904.