The top of the basket is strengthened by two hoops of rattan or bamboo. One is placed outside, the other inside; on them is laid a small strip of the same material, and all three are sewed down by passing a thin strip of rattan through two holes punched in margin. This strip doubles on itself, encircles the rim, and after an interval again passes through two more holes, and so on around the entire basket. A square base, attached in the same manner as the rim, generally completes the basket. In the mountain districts near to Apayao, the bases of the smaller eating dishes are drawn in toward the center at four points, giving the effect of a four-pointed star. _Mats_ (_ikamin_).--Mats are used as beds, never as floor coverings. They are rectangular in form, usually about six feet long and three wide, and are undecorated. They are made from strips of _pandanus_ in the _laga_ weave (cf. p. 423). _Dyes_.--In recent years analine dyes have come into favor in some villages, and a variety of colors appears in the articles made by their weavers, but the vegetable dyes used by the ancestors are still employed by most of the women. The commonest colors are blue, pink--"black red"--, red, and yellow. Blue is ordinarily produced by placing the leaves and branches of the indigo plant, _tayuni (Indigofera tinctoria)_in water for a few days; then to boil them, together with a little lime. The thread is dipped in the liquid. Pink is secured by crushing _lynga_ (_Sesamum indicum_ L.) seeds and boiling them in water. Threads are placed in this for five nights, while during the day they are dried in the sun. The root of the _apatot_ (_Morinda citrifolia_ or _umbellata_) is next crushed, and water is added. The threads are now transferred to this liquid, and for ten days and nights are alternately soaked and sunned. A copper color results, but this soon changes to pink. It is said that the _apatot_ alone produces a red dye. It is also claimed that the seeds of the _apang_ (_Bixa Orellana_ L.) and of a variety of rattan, when boiled, give a permanent red. [243] A yellow dye is produced by boiling the leaves of the _Tamarindus indica_ L. in water until a strong liquor is obtained. Bark head-bands are stained a purplish-red by applying a liquid secured through boiling _kelyan_ (_Diospyros cunalon_ D.C.?) bark. For ceremonial purposes they are also colored yellow by applying the juice of the _konig_ (_Curcuma longa_), but as this has a disagreeable odor, and the color is not permanent, it is not much used in every-day garments. Lemon juice is also applied to bark to give it a yellow hue. Fish nets are colored brown by dipping them into a dye made by crushing the _katakot_ vine in water, or by staining with the juice of the _taotawa_ (_Jatropha curcas_ L,).