Ilocano Handmade Blankets

Handloom weaving is a process where thread that makes up the warp and weft are interwoven in an upright wooden handloom (pag-ablan) by one or two weavers. Ilocano blankets or Ilocos blankets (also called inabel) are made from yarns of cotton, polyester, acrylic and rayon. The different colored yarns are arranged in a wooden handloom (pag-ablan) to create varied and unique designs. The process is intricate and labor-intensive so weavers must master synchronizing the movements of their hands and feet to properly use the wooden handloom.

Not many people know that the century-old tradition of weaving wider Ilocano handloom-woven blankets is produced in Bangar, a sleepy town in La Union (Northern Philippines). For many years, our town has been the main producer and supplier of these abel blankets and has been known to be the weaving center of Ilocandia. Wholesalers from other regions come to our town and buy our products.

Today, however, with the ready availability of cheap machine-made fabrics and the migration of the youth away from Bangar, the abel tradition is in danger of dying out and that makes me sad most of the time. Late last year, I put up an online store selling our handloom-woven products. I was so thrilled when I got an inquiry for the first time! That first buyer was from Laguna. I hope to meet wholesalers and retailers thru my online store. Shipping fee (for retail) is quite expensive though because there are no couriers in our town. I have to go to San Fernando City to send retail orders. Travel time is around 2 hours (back and forth) thru bus. For bulk orders, I usually send thru Buslines and shipping fee is free! I hope other people from our town start to promote our products. I don't really care about competition. What matters most to me is to keep this craft alive and for people to know that these handmade blankets are produced here in Bangar. By the way, aside from blankets and bedsheets, we also have hand woven bath and hand towels, shawls and pillowcases. I hope I could come up with a new design for our pillowcase soon, as I am bored with the old designs.
Before I forget, let's just make a distinction between the two italicized words here because they are used interchangeably: abel is the Ilocano term that refers to the process of weaving, while inabel is the final woven product.

Ilocano handmade blankets (abel blankets) are generally known for their durability and craftsmanship. We have several of these blankets at home. They are very sturdy and beautifully-designed. Among all the Ilocano blankets that we have, wasig orig (made of cotton and polyester) is my favorite. As Elaine from La Pinay Geek described, "the original Ilocos Blankets are thick and will keep you warm against the cold, and during summer months, you can drape it over your tummy and it won't be smoldering hot."

Trambia blankets and bedcovers (the ones made of acrylic and polyester) are very popular during the months of December to February. These are usually used as bed covers because of the tassel edging, but they also come in plecos edging and can be used as blankets. I am thinking of other blanket edging that can be used on these handmade blankets. I have seen fleece blankets with satin binding and I think it will look good on our trambia blankets because some customers don't like blankets with tassel. We also have the trambia checkered blankets or Reyes blankets as they are popularly known. Reyes blankets are one of our best-sellers!

I hope the loom-owners also consider using bamboo yarn in producing abel fabric. Or maybe they can mix it with other types of yarn. According to my research, bamboo yarn is more absorbent than cotton, soft, strong and flexible, organic, considered a natural antibacterial and has ultra-violet protective properties. Wow! I'd love to have a handloom-woven curtain, bathrobe, blanket, towel blah blah blah!