Textile industries.
Weaving was one of the industries well-known to the Filipinos long before the coming of the Spaniards. Contemporary writers all speak of the great quantity of cloths, especially cotton, woven in the country.[28] Says Sande: “All know how to raise cotton and silk, and everywhere they know how to spin and weave for clothing.”[29]
Besides cotton, the fibers of the abacá or hemp plant was also used for weaving; in fact, the latter must have been used even before the former.[30] They wove cloths also from Piña, and from silk imported from China.[31] The women knew the art of making lace and of embroidery.[32]