Bilum Videos
Bilum is Papua New Guinea's stretchy handmade fabric, which has traditionally been created to make bags. These strong, stretchy carry-alls have long straps which can be held in place on a carrier's forehead, to take the weight of carrying shopping and babies, conveniently leaving arms free.
Made in the traditional way, bilum bags are handmade using local plant materials which are prepped for use as a form of yarn. Reeds, fibre from tree bark, sisal, or vine are twisted into continuous lengths of consistently-sized yarn. This natural yarn is woven into a stretchy fabric with a single needle using a knotless netting technique.
Nowadays, bilum makers also use store bought string or yarn, expanding their color palette. Besides the gorgeous patterns woven into bags, items like feathers and fur are sometimes added as decorative details.
In the past few years there’s been a creative movement in PNG that's given rise to a radical shift in the way people think about bilum, and an expansion in the way it's used.
A shift happened in bilum-making PNG communities when Florence Jaukae Kamel, a Papua New Guinea artist and designer, radically changed the way people thought about the fabric. Florence challenged the norm and started to make dresses and hats using the bilum technique, considering bilum as a fabric rather than just a process for bag-making.
This artistic shift in thinking about bilum as a design element and technique has helped spread the word about bilum and bilum-makers.
Below are videos that give insight into the making of this amazing hand-crafted fabric.
· Don't miss: Read Bilum for more about this amazing technique and Florence Jaukae Kamel, who is organizing bilum artists and crafters.
· And, for another type of single-needle fabric-making technique, see Nalbinding and How to Knit Like the Vikings.
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