Adis concentrate on simple lines, and have a great variety of patterns. For instance, there are arrangements of red and black stripes on a white background; white and yellow stripes on a black background; alternate bands of red and black or of olive-green and brown; broad border-bands of brown with a central narrow stripe of black and white, the body of the cloth being with brown and white stripes at three inch intervals. Adi bands, whether vertical or horizontal, are often enhanced by a sort of hatching-rows of coloured dots, frets and single lines of different colours. Tiny vertical bars of red and black serve as space-fillers in the horizontal bands or even the narrow stripes. Different shades are achieved by mixing threads of black with other colours, and by closer or looser weaves. Unmarried Adi girls wear a type of belt, married ones another.

Apa Tanis concentrate on simple designs and straight lines. The ordinary Apa Tani cloth gets in effect from a use of broad bands alternating with narrow lines, nearly always horizontal. On a general base of blue-green, there may be, along the top and bottom borders, a series of bands varying from a quarter of an inch to nearly an inch in breath, and these themselves have narrow red lines running through them. Within these borders, there are a large number of red lines woven to resemble frets, and down the centre are narrow bands of black, green and yellow with red threads. Another style of cloth is white with borders of blue, mixed with red lines and a few vertical stripes of red, green and white. There are hardly any curvilinear designs in tribal weaving, but in the remarkable priest's shawl there are genuine spirals, some of which are actually curved. In general however, curves and wavy lines, which may be alternating upright and pendent triangles. Although Apa Tani weaving is simple and straightforward, there is an attractive men's coat, black in colour and decorated with an overall pattern of white diamonds and orange stripes interconnected and enhanced in various ways.

Mishmi weaving is more elaborate, though here too the straight line and band is in frequent use. In Tuensang, the most characteristic shawls have an essential design of stripes and bands of contrasting blacks, reds and blues. The most common Konyak skirt gains its aesthetic effect by a combination of a large number of narrow horizontal lines of red, black and white set at varying distances from each other, or by alternating red bands with groups of black, yellow and white lines. These single or multiple line and band motifs are the simplest of all and naturally the easiest to weave; sometimes they serve as borders for more complicated designs; sometimes they form the entire pattern in their own right. In their simplicity and directness, there is something very satisfying, and by the rhythm of frequent repetion, they produce an effect not unlike that of the rhymed decasyllabic couplet in verse. This may not always reach the heights of the romantic lyric, but is a very serviceable means of conveying ideas.

It is among the Mishmis, especially Idu Mishmis, that diamond designs have been brought to the highest degree of elaboration. They are woven on shawls, skirts, coats and bags, diamond within diamond, diamond plain and diamonds decorated, diamonds arranged in every possible combination. These designs in which the diamonds huddle, as it were, within each other seem to symbolise the strongly introverted Mishmi temperament, which draws within itself and is lacking in a social consciousness. There is an Idu Mishmi border design of alternating triangles, each with internal repetion. Rows of opposed triangles meeting at the tips and forming lozenges between them are a common feature of Mishmi coats. In inexpert hands, these pairs of triangles get separated and look like hourglasses or cane stools. The cross is a popular design among Mishmis.

On Taraon Mishmi bags and skirts, a grid pattern is so coloured to form crosses composed of five squares. The designs of Kaman and Taraon Mishmis are of extraordinary variety. In Khanlang Valley where every one of the five hundred inhabitants are clothed from head to foot in handwoven cloth, not even a single pattern is exactly duplicated. Some designs are interpreted as a frog, the human figure with the head, a narrow waist and legs, the head of a dao, an eye, scales of fish, clouds trailed across the sky, a river and the rainbow. A row of chevrons signify the marks on the body of a snake, and the interesting pattern of rows of very small pink triangles with a white filling represent teeth visible when the lips are parted in a smile. The very diamond design, traditionally initiated by divine invention, is sometimes related to the markings on the cobra, and the eye design may possibly have evolved from the 'spectacles' on its hood. Aeroplanes are a familiar object all over the frontier. In Kaman Mishmi textiles, the aeroplane designs are fully integrated.

Wanchos allow only members of the chiefs' families to wear a certain type of blue head on the arms and legs and have special design for their headbands. There are certain kinds of bags that can only be carried by members of a headhunter's family. The designs found on the Wancho bags are triangles closely associated with grid and diamond patterns. The zigzag patterns are common on Wancho bags. They are made in rather loud and gaudy colours. The zigzag designs are said to represent the natural aggressive and forceful temperament of the Wanchos. Herring-bone designs are also found on these bags. The lozenge or diamond patterns are also found on the Wancho bags. They are found either in horizontal rows and linked together or as unconnected pieces, when they may represent leaves. Triangles are, of course, closely associated with grid and diamond patterns but they often occur by themselves. They are found rarely on Wancho bags. Human figures are rarely woven. They are shown rather realistically on Wancho bags and sashes where the simple geometric designs are certainly associated with head hunting.

On Hrusso bags, a Chinese fence design is made, which Hrussos say represents the jana flower. This flower is said to have been named after a great Tibetan king, so great that he had the power of talking to the sun. He had an enormous palace which opened on all four sides and could accommodate the sun within it. Everyday he was born at sunrise; by midday, he grew into a youth: by evening he was old, and went down with the sun into darkness. Next morning he was born again. When he left the earth, the many coloured jana flower sprang up in his palace precints. Among one of the popular designs of Hrussos is the sun surrounded by its corona. The story behind this is that when the sky and the sun were first made it was very hot, so the god made the clouds to give people shade. When sunshine is needed, clouds give the sun food to please him and persuade him to shine brightly. This food is the corona represented by horizontal lines extending from the central body of the design. Not everybody can wear any cloth among Hrussos. The aristocracy alone can wear the Tibetan knobbed hat, and in the past, there were restrictions and the use of the use of silk as well.

Sherdukpen women are skilful weavers. There is no fixed place for weaving, nor a fixed structure required, for their loom is simple, light and portable. The articles woven are mainly attractive coloured bags with geometrical designs and rectangular pieces of cloth called bogre, which are used for carrying things. The yarn is obtained from the plains or is manufactured locally from the bark of plants known as hongchong and hongche. The local yarn prepared from hongche is strong and is used for making fishing nets and bowstrings. The bark of hongchong is poisonous, and as such, women cover their hands with cloth when removing the bark, which is then soaked in boiling water, and washed several times until it decomposes and becomes pulpy. Among Sherdukpens the some designs revolve around folk tales. One such tale is about "a girl who falls in love with a snake, who is a handsome youth in disguise. In his snake form, he coils himself in her lap as she weaves; she copies the markings on her lover's body and is soon making the most beautiful cloth that was ever seen." Among other popular designs are stylised peacocks carrying a baby bird on the back, elephants with riders, and flowers that are combined with geometric forms.

Sherdukpens wear a bogre cloth over the shoulder which serves as a sort of knapsack. Its central motif is always a right-pointing swastika, around which are a number of subordinate patterns which vary considerably. The colours are red, blue, black and sometimes green and yellow on a white background. Most weavers have forgotten the meaning of these symbols, but some older women do remember, though interpretation varies from village to village. Several of these designs were either interpreted as flowers or as shrubs which supplies the black juice used for painting beauty-marks on the faces of young girls. The lines projecting from the main design are said to be the thorns of the plant. A Chinese fence design is generally used as the upper border of Sherdukpen bags. Sherdukpens explain this as the fence dividing their country from China.

The women dress themselves in loose, collarless and sleeveless shirts, which cover the body from shoulders to knees. Over it they sometimes wear small full-sleeved coats made of mill-cloth. Like men, women also tie a coloured sash, known locally as muhkak, around their waist. Sherdukpens generally go barefoot, but sometimes use Monpa shoes. Some Sherdukpens, especially those who have come in contact with the outside world, have given up a part of their original dress, and now wear coats, collared shirts, woollen pyjamas and canvas shoes.

Tuensang shawls have a grid pattern. In Tuensang, the most characteristic shawls have an essential design of stripes and bands of contrasting blacks, reds and blues. In Tuensang, colours and designs have their symbolic meaning. The small red squares on the shawls are said to represent the ferment used in making rice beer. The sharply-pointed triangles are arrows or hornbills. Circles of cowries stitched on a cloth symbolise human heads. The red goats' hair so often used, like the red goats' hair on dao handles or sashes, represent the fire which destroys an enemy's village: trefoil and quatrefoil groups of cowries represent the stars, for raids are undertaken at night by the light of the moon and the stars. The red colour of the shawls is explained for the blood of enemies: blue stands for the sky, black is the night. In Tuensang, where in the past a man's social position depended so largely on his success in headhunting and in giving feast of merit, this dress proctocol has immense importance.

Pailibos use a separate dress for dailywear and for festive occasions. Besides, they have special dresses for winter, monsoon, and for hunting and (formerly) war. The male dresses include kedu - a sleeveless, buttonless coat for dailywear; sisak kedu - a white sleeveless and buttonless coat for daily use; sab-ki - loin cloth made of cotton; nara - a fibre piece hanging from the shoulders covering the back for protection from rain; namu - a woollen sleeveless and buttonless coat with cutting to put the neck through - it is used during the winters and during hunts; jepu-sube - a winter woollen coat. The female dresses include jepo - a skirt of cotton, woven by them in mixed colours or stripes; jeli-jebor - a woollen blouse for use during winter; eje-serak - a belt made of yarn with artistic patterns used on festive occasions. The others are tayen-soba and tari-lisup. A male child goes out without any clothes until he enters boyhood. He is then given a loin cloth and after some time a loose coat. A female child wears a small cloth round the waist as soon as she is able to attend to some petty errands. Pailibos have certain ceremonial dresses like jeli-sube - a red woollen coat for festive occasions or during visits to other villages or during winter; jemu-sube - a woollen coat of maroon colour also used on the above occasions. Others include tayen-seak, sopin-dumlop, sotum-dumlop, dumlop, atak, lakbu, lub-bin, tal-gor, etc.

Weaving is a traditional occupation of Singpho women, and they are well-versed in this art, as in the art of dyeing. A Singpho house is incomplete without the loom in the front of it. Women irrespective of their age excepting of course the young children, know weaving. They grow cotton in their house and spin the yarn themselves. They use loin loom similar to those of Khampti looms. Their most favourite yarn is Assamese muga. But dresses made of muga yarn are costly and so they use such dresses only during ceremonial occasions. Favourite colours are red, black, green and violet.

Singphos make their dresses themselves, and even now with the exception of a very few, all use homemade dresses. The men's dress consists of a lungi, woven in cheques, with yarns of various colour, a jacket and a turban. The men's lungis are of three different kinds: (i) patep: woven with red and black yarn. The quality of white yarn is more; (ii) bamo: made of muga yarn of bottle green, violet sky blue, black and green colour; (iii) pachang: made of black, violet, white and green yarn.

Singpho men wear their hair long, and tie it in a knot on the top of the head, when they wear a turban. The dress of women consists of a beautiful designed scarf, a waistband, and a turban. The skirt is called pukang. There are different kinds of skirts that they weave, which have different names, depending on the size of the stripes and the colour of the yarn. The different skirts are: (i) mikheng pukang: woven in red, black and green yarn. The red and balck stripes are broad then the green ones, and the texture of the cloth is coarse; (ii) mathat pukang: the background of the cloth is black with intermediary thin white stripes; (iii) mukiya pukang: the background is black with thin stripes of green and violet. It is of muga Yarn, and is used only during ceremonial occasions. Singphos do not have a separate ceremonial dress, but during marriages the bride and the groom put on a huge long cloak over their dress, decorated with beautiful designs. They do not make it themselves but purchase from Burma. It is also an item included in the bride price.