The beauty of a petite figure draped in “paa sin”, a colorful length of hand-woven, sarong-like material and performing “wai”, the Thai bow, is breathtaking. The beauty may be human itself or in the eye of the beholder, but in case of the Thai attire, there is no mistake it’s silk!
Most Thai silk is woven by hand, a rather time- consuming task which requires special skill, but in effect gives this most desirable lustrous sheen. Even its slightly uneven texture is appreciated because that’s what distinguishes it from a dull machine-woven fabric. The process of weaving for a skilled weaver may range from several centimeters to several meters a day depend on what kind of weave, or pattern, is designed for a certain item. It is said that for some kind of complicated patterns only the most skilled weavers can achieve acceptable results. Export Thai shawls and scarves are in their majority hand woven, 4-ply, natural, unprocessed silk fabrics. They are extremely lightweight, almost floating on air and the most delicate one, as their sellers boast, should pass without effort through the wedding band. In fact there is more to the weaving variety: there is a Surin, known for the unusual weaving and processing which create a shimmering effect; there is an Open Weave, usually used for cotton fabrics; Batik, which involves unprocessed silk from the Northeast of Thailand; Embroided and Brocaded silk, rich in color and soft to the touch; Matmee silk, famous for its decorative quality, which looks great on a table as a runner or tablecloth. The fading effect created by two-tone, yarn-dyed natural silk is also popular among female clientele for its subtlety and for the ease of matching it with other clothes. In general, Thai silk, being extremely lightweight, is warm in cold weather and cool in hot season. It may add an” ethnic” edge to the fashion but also can be combined with formal or casual wear with great success. Even though most Thai silk is dyed and woven accordingly to traditional patterns and follows tribal designs, its application to the modern, urban fashion of our times seems more than natural. Great designers and dictators of the world of couture from Paris to New York to Tokyo show their fascination for silk and use it profusely. Following the recent fluctuations in world fashion, one may think once-again that the awakening interest in silk and Asian trends came shoulder-to- shoulder with the boom in music, film or even with the changes of a more social or political nature. It may be the case but still it doesn’t change the fact that when the hungry worm found a tender young mulberry leaf and fed 3 times a day for 20 days and increased its length by more than 40 times and shed its skin 4 times in the process, and when it was ready to spin, it met a human being. One may exclaim: What a man!, because, if not for that man, there would be no Silk Road nor cities and cultures built on silk trade and one of the beauties of the world would be lost to us. When the first strand of raw silk left a wooden spindle, one may agree at least that if not as significant as the Bronze era, a new culture of refinement was born.
Q1. What are the characteristic factors of Thai silk?
Q2. Why does the range of silk-weaving per day vary in length?
Q3.What patterns or designs are used in silk-weaving?
Q4. Why do many fashion designers choose silk for their projects?
Q5. What animal is at the base of the silk-producing process and how does it change in time?
