From the pineapple plant, first brought to the Philippines through the Spanish conquest in the 1500s, came the discovery of the inherent value of this plant in its ability to transform itself into the “fabric of dreams,” and become synonymous with the finest treasure of the Philippines. Piña, the amazing fiber extracted from the leaf of this plant, could create a fabric so fine and sheer, that it garnered the attention of the highest levels of society. Unlike the finely spun threads of cotton, linen and silk, the piña thread is used in a monofilament form as extract- 4 ed from the leaf by an elaborate hand process. The then sorted filaments are manually knotted together to form the threads suited for the loom, where an experienced weaver could produce a fabric at the rate of one half inch per day on the traditional home loom.

On exhibit at Lacis Museum in Berkeley until May 4, 2018.

Hours: Monday thru Saturday 12:00 - 6:00 pm Free Admission tel: 510-843-7290 - call to schedule a tour