Pākē (rain cape)

Pake (raincapes), like this one, were practical garments designed to keep the wearer dry in wet weather. Rain poured off the outer rows of shredded fibre, which acted like tiles of a roof. The long strands covering this pake are the ends of the vertical threads. Some are doubled over as well. The aho (weft or horizontal threads) are single pairs of threads. This technique, known as single paired twining, is often used in raincapes, probably because it is faster than the double paired twining normally used for fine cloaks.

The fibre of this pake might be from kiekie (climber) or harakeke (New Zealand flax). It is undyed.