Tinali: The Kalinga Handstitched Beaded Bracelet Cuff

I was recently commissioned to create a Kalinga version of a bridal  trousseau. A trousseau can include any number of things that a bride needs in the early part of her marriage so it can include the clothes and jewelry. This post is about the  Kalinga "Tinali" or what I would call the Kalinga beaded bracelet cuff. 

The "tinali" used to be multiple individual strings of seed beads tied around the arms of Kalinga women from the wrist to close to the elbow.  Each string was individually tied to the arms. If you look at the picture below, you will understand how painstaking this process can take to put on and to take off.

Photo courtesy of Naty Sugguiyao, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples - Kalinga Philippines. Modeled by Saling Goyao Cawitan.

Over time, the process was streamlined and an ingenious method was used by the women to be able to keep the seed bead bracelets together (some strings broke and got lost in the fields). The women used thread, a piece of cloth, some buttons to create a stunning bracelet cuff that you see in the pictures above and below. A long piece of thread is then used to thread around the many buttons that line the cloth base as you can see in the picture below.
 

Photo courtesy of Naty Sugguiyao, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples - Kalinga Philippines.
Modeled by Saling Goyao Cawitan.

Fast forward to modern times, I wanted to keep the traditional look but use more convenient methods to use the bracelet cuff. My first attempt can be seen in the picture below where I used leather and metal eyelets. I thought that this would be a durable and convenient method of putting the bracelet on and off. 

For my client's trousseau, I chose to use soft suede leather as the "cuff" or base and started stitching the seed beads (mostly sourced from an African trade beads vendors and antique sales). The fine seed beads used int the Kalinga tinali are difficult to find. I would say the upper half is mostly a size 15 seed bead and the lower half of the beads increase to size E seed beads.  I have not seen a "tinali" with all the same size seed beads from top to bottom. One of my favorite online shop has a comparison chart here.

For those of you attempting to do so, it would be a challenge to find size 15 trade bead seed beads (the brown and the white seed beads).  The colors usually on the top half - yellow, blue and black, are easier to find in size 15 to size 8 seed bead size. I am purposely being technical for DIY people who are interested to find out materials used (see the end of the post for a complete list). I estimate using about 70 strands of seed beads for the project (each strand on raffia is about 23-26 inches in length). I also added some focal beads halfway thru each beaded line - for this project, I used the 5-6 mm trade bead carnelians for the top-half and red Size E trade bead seed beads on the bottom half.


The picture below shows how I stitched the beads into the suede leather. I used top-of-the-line Fireline thread (yes, the same company that makes the fishing lines) and used up more than 125 yards of it to finish two cuffs.

I then folded the flaps and hand stitched the two sides together ( I thank my high school home economics teachers despite the uncharitable thoughts I harbored while I was enrolled in their classes). I also decided to use special shell buttons to try to give a traditional look despite the use of all "modern" materials.

All in all, the project took more than 8 weeks but the end product is a beautiful bracelet cuff for a beautiful bride.

Materials used:

(Approx. 70) trade bead seed bead strands (ranging from size 15 to size E. Traditional colors are yellow, blue, black, brown and some white).
(30-35) 5-6 mm size trade bead carnelians 
1 strand trade bead pure brass seed beads 
2 strands red trade bead seed beads (size E)
(2) 8x8 soft suede leather 
(2) 125 yds smoke color Fireline beading thread(6 lb strength) 

(2) Wide-eye beading needle - one of the needles did not survive the ordeal :)
(35) Shell buttons 
corded leather string (to string around the buttons)

If you are interested to have one custom-made for you, please contact me at  www.facebook.com/kalingabeads or my etsy shop - www.etsy.com/shop/kalingabeads. I have not posted new items recently but I expect to add new ones soon!