Sew Inspirational

Bali Bound - Fabric Tour

Bali has long been a favourite holiday escape for Australians of all ages. The surfers seemed to find it first, but then the secret quickly spread and it became an easy, inexpensive destination for every age group. Shopping has always been one of Bali’s major attractions and most would probably think of hand-carved furniture, pottery, paintings, silver and gold work, but have you ever thought of the fabrics?

Oh my goodness! Think of the fabrics…

Returning to Bali after a 25 year hiatus, filled with children and work, I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the beautiful memories had survived and the Balinese people as warm and inviting as ever. In fact (by avoiding the jet-set pace of Kuta) the only differences between the holiday this time, was that I didn’t want to dance ALL night, but I did want to track down beautiful cloth.

Without venturing very far, you will find:

The Traditional Market – Pasar Badung
Pasar Badung in Jalan Gajah Mada, Denpasar, is Bali’s biggest traditional market. Located on the eastern bank of the Badung River, it is in the heart of the city. This is a lively market full of colour and excitement. The first floor sells flowers, fruit and other fresh produce. The second and third floors sell traditional fabrics like songket, sarongs, batik, traditional Balinese kebaya as well as dancers’ costumes.

Kumbasari Market
Located next to Pasar Badung is Kumbasari market. Kumbasari market is actually an extension of Pasar Badung, also selling a large variety of traditional songket fabrics directly from the loom, handcrafts and bed covers.

Jalan Sulawesi
For modern textiles try Jalan Sulawesi, a street full of shops and one of the most popular places for anyone who is interested in linen, Yogya ikat, silk, saris (Indian), scarves and even curtain materials. The prices aren’t fixed so you need to bargain: a good rule of thumb is to start at half the asked price, slowly going up until everyone is happy. To get a good price, pretend you’re not new in town and use as much Indonesian as you can.

***Really keep your eye open for Shop Sentausa – superb cloth.

Moving to the hills, you will find:
When you leave the south to head north to Ubud you’ll go through Celuk which is the silver village and everyone knows that you can’t have a great frock without a great piece of jewelry, so stop awhile.

Ubud
Ubud for most visitors to Bali means art and serene rice fields, but not surprisingly, Ubud means great shopping too. Excellent quality modern cottons and silks are sold in shops next to hand woven ikat specialists and fine Javanese batiks from Yogyakarta. Wander the main Monkey Forest Road for the best quality shops and look out for ‘Gego, House of Ikat and Handwoven Fabrics’, with the woman weaving at the loom in the front of the shop.

When you drive into Ubud on the main road, the Palace is on the right with the market almost directly opposite. It’s a food and flower market early each morning and converts to a fun, colourful touristy market, after 10am, so bargain hard. Inexpensive, cheaper grade cloth is available here but as everything is so affordable, I would recommend that you save your money and your suitcase space for the best quality fabric shops. Spend your money here on local goods, such as baskets, wood carvings, bamboo wind chimes, silver jewelry and fun home furnishings.

To regroup and refresh, a couple of doors down from the palace is the lovely café – ‘Lotus Garden Café’ with the big lily pond garden. It’s a good spot for a light meal and an icy cold fresh juice.

Next to the Lotus Garden there is a side road.  It’s no ordinary side road – look at the cobbles and the paving which are all signed and patterned.  Up this little road, Jalan Kajeng, on the right, is a textile shop called ‘Threads of Life’ with museum quality ikat – well worth a visit.

Threads of Life commissions dyers and weavers to recover the skills of their ancestors, making textiles to an exquisite standard seen elsewhere only in museums. They sponsor the weaving of traditional, handmade, natural-dyed textiles and work directly with weavers arranging advanced payments for pieces that often take years to complete.

This centre runs 2-hour to full-day workshops with hands-on experience of the subtle art of hand drawn batik, the time-consuming intricacies of the ikat process, and the use of indigo and other natural dyes. They also organize and lead one-day to two-week long group tours around Bali and across Indonesia focusing on the textile arts.

Threads of Life Textile Art Centre
Jalan Kajeng 24, Ubud, Bali 80571, Indonesia
www.threadsoflife.com or tac@threadsoflife.com

TIP 1: As another side tip I have to mention that I had the most luxurious pampering in Ubud and I felt like Cleopatra after a beautiful massage, and body scrub followed by floating in a stone tub of steaming, fragrant water, frangipanis and rose petals – two hours of heaven at ‘Beji Ayu, in Monkey Forest Street for just A$14 !
www.bejiayu.com or info@bejiayu.com

TIP 2: Or why not try a fabulous Balinese cooking class at ‘Bumi Bali’ with head instructor and chef, Kefut Sudarta. Several hours and seven courses later I felt that I could confidently take the flavours of Bali home and I had a greater appreciation of the tastes and culture of this beautiful country.
www.bumifood.com or info@bumifood.com

Klungkung
Within and around the market towns of Gianyar and Klungkung you can experience the contrast between both aspects of the area’s textile production. In Gianyar, the economics of scale of workshop-based weft ikat production can be seen and the part played in the island’s export economy appreciated. In Sidemen, the cottage industry songket weaving is supported by a local market and meeting the weavers requires a door-to-door walk through the picturesque community. 

Tengananan
Tengananan village is a traditional Balinese village famous for the original Balinese ikat called Gringsing. It’s located in the east part of Bali in the Karangasem regency; about 2 hours drive from Ubud. Tengananan is one of the two places in the world that does double ikat; you’ll need a deep pocket- about US$500 for a piece but it’s fantastic to watch them working. (The other place is in India.)

And finally, for sheer stunning scenery head north to Kintamani and then head even further north to Lovinia for spectacular beaches that are not touristy. Take a jacket on this trip as it’s cool in the mountains.

Happy holiday and happy fabric hunting.  Have fun, have a spa; do lots of shopping and sunning and come back relaxed ready to sew up a storm –I did!

Sue Neal