Find the best Ata Bali Bags

Choose the best Ata Bali bag with our tutorial and pay attention to the details like we do. There are many patterns and shapes and we will explain how it is made and what to be aware of. We are from Bali, we know.

About Ata bags

Ata moon as one of the first adjustments from Friska

One of the main Balinese products is a bag from Ata grass. Ata grows in the jungle as a weed and our artisans harvest it from area around Teganan village. It goes through a process of cutting and smoking before it is made into a beautiful bag. It all started with plain and star round bags for Wildindo. These simple and elegant bags are still very popular and you can find them on many corners of Bali. Our artisans also evolved into small patterns with the black roots of Ata grass as you can see on the picture. The little moon pattern brings small piece of individuality and uniqueness and is so cute.

What are the main parts of every bag our artisans make?

Material and surface
Double lining vs single lining
Leather or natural strap and handle

Material

Plant as Ata grass from Bali is extremely flexible and can be made into many bag shapes. Although It can create some unwanted defects, if not properly done. When you look at round ata bag, it should be round. There are tiny uneven parts and bumps as it is still handwoven, but we’ve seen some noticeable ones. Just be careful if you buy a few somewhere else.

If you see any leftovers ata grass on the surface, side or bottom of the bag, there are usually a few, it’s not a problem, you can simply cut it with nail-clipper or scissors. This happens because there is the end of the ata string and the new one starts. Sometimes it happens during the drying stage when the string ends outside of the line.

After sun-drying or smoking, the material and the bag itself becomes light and durable. In case water is spilled on the bag, you can wipe it and let it dry.

Double lining with Batik

In short, Batik is colored cotton cloth and also a method of coloring. You can read more about it on wiki Batik.

There are many different types and we use designs from our Balinese artisans. Patterns with lines, flowers or animals are just amazing and we line the bags properly. That means double lined to make them smooth inside and without any defects and glue. Most of the time you will easily recognize single lining, because you will see glue or ruined Batik as you need to be more careful when putting the cotton inside the bag.

Strap, handle and clasp

Some bags have straps, some have handles and some have it all. We use leather or the natural ata grass made into a wide string. There are also some plastic straps, so just be aware and check the material properly. Clasp also vary, it can be natural or leather with a button. We mostly work with leather, but we have selection of bags, which are fully natural, completely vegan. All made from ata grass. The strap is handwoven same way as a clasp on a picture with Ata Star bag,

Sometimes in the beginning the clasp button is really hard to close and click. In case that happens, there is a simple fix. Make tiny drop of oil on the tissue and use it on the button. Or just keep using it and it will fix itself eventually. We check our buttons and bags, but it might happen to you somewhere else.

We do what we can to provide best Ata Bali bags to our customers and we are proud behind our hard work for every single bag as it is not easy to make and it takes time to deliver it in high quality.

How do we make our Ata bags in Bali?

Using simple tool for making ata grass same width

Harvesting Ata grass is not easy as it might sounds, it twists among the trees so you cannot easily get it. It grows mainly in jungle on the ground bush and trees.
Preparing Ata grass strings for the bag. Our artisans use any objects where you can make a sharp hole, then you pull the strings through, simple.
When you have enough strings you can start waving the bag of your choice and shape.
One of the last and important parts is drying, we do sun drying and smoke drying. You can see the difference between fresh and dried.
Placing Batik embroidery made in Bali. We buy Batik from Balinese artisans. Every Indonesian island has slightly different Batik style and pattern.