Normally when you weave you create your pattern with the various multi threads your loom is strung with. Mudmee Silk weaving is where the pattern is created before you weave
Nothing speaks to old Thai traditions more eloquently than Mudmee. In the north east of Thailand, in an area called ‘Isaan’, the secrets of natural dyeing and hand-weaving silk have been handed down through generations of families and results in the production of beautiful and intricate design of Mudmee silk.
The families of the Isaan cultivate the mulberry tree and feed the leaves to the silkworms. After eating quite a bit of mulberry leaves the silkworm, spins a cocoon – the source of the silk. The cocoons are generally a golden yellow and make yarn with a bright sheen that gives Thai silk its unique appearance and texture. The women boil the cocoons and reel the yarn by hand. Hand-reeled silk is another important aspect of Thai silk’s uniqueness and relates to the strength of the silk.
The pattern is set by tieing and dyeing the silk yarn repeatedly so that the weaver ends up with silk yarn that looks like a multicolored bar code. This is the weft or horizontal yarn. The pattern is the same on both sides of the silk and is generally a complex continual pattern
Where possible our suppliers use natural dyes and they use branches, leaves, fruit , foods, plants. There are fors and against natural dyes but with modern techniques dye setting can be carried out successfully. I have not had a problem with colour fastness.
There are no urban “sweatshops” in Thai handwoven fabric production. Weavers often work alone or with a friend in a home environment or in groups choosing the hours they weave.
Mudmee is woven on wooden looms, many of which have been passed down through generations, from mother to daughter along with their weaving expertise.
This is a very traditional skill that cannot be reproduced in any other way.It is also a human art and the fact that in these small, rural villages in Isaan they produce their own silk make their own pattern, dye and then weave it should make us value their end product even more.
Check out our selection we have some extraordinary pieces
