Thai silk is one of the attractions to the visitors to Thailand. Thai silk is unique with its patterns and colors. A place, the sort of regions of Thailand, where the silk is produced is the factor influences the patterns and colors as well as the weaving style. Since each region of Thailand combines the mixed races of citizen, it has its own history, and culture. Their weaving knowledge and skills differ from region to region. Thai silk, thud, is unique by its locality. Most regions of Thailand, therefore, have their own typical silks. The silk fabric from all regions is not inferior to one another since each shows beautiful indigenous culture record. The following are the example of the typical and most popular Thai silk fabric.
The first one is the famous Thai silk from the northeastern part. The most popular was woven with the main decorative technique of traditional textiles in Isan “weft ikat” which is called "mud- mee". The mud-mee technique or the ikat technique is the “tie-dye method” which involves in the tie-dyeing yarn into patterns before weaving. The yarns which are being tied resist the dye when immersed in a dye bath. The yarn is re-tied and re-dipped if more than one color is required.
Secondly, the Thai silk fabric Pumeriyong from the south, Chaiya in Surat Thani, is woven in a pattern of a small flower or a piece of carpet. The yarn and weaving style is through the hand reel. Although a numbers of local operations use a reeling machine for this task, but some silk threads are still hand-reeled.
photo by JJ Harrison on wikimedia.org
Lastly but being the enormous market is silk woven with silver brocade which is the culture of northern fabrics. The most famous example of the north weaving Thai silk is the pattern of Teen-Jok. This is the most refined weft technique. “Jok” means “to pick”. Patterns are formed by the use of multicolored silk and gold and silver metal thread. They are introduced into a cotton ground weave as discontinuous supplementary weft. The reverse side of the work usually faces the weaver. The patterns are piked using the fingers or with the aid of a porcupine quill, or needle, and a bow-shaped tool helps to keep the warp threads level and evenly spaced. This technique provides the greated opportunity for creativity in design and is used in the hem borders (teen-jok) of women's skirts. The work is extremely time consuming, one band 16-18 cms in length can take from six to eight weeks to produce.
Traditionally, Thai silk is hand-woven fabrics which are manufactured in Thailand. At present, though weaving machines are overwhelming the textile market, it is estimated about more than 60% of silk fabrics in Thailand are hand-woven. This results in giving special characteristic for Thai silk. These produce silk fabrics rather thick, offer fine artistry, painstaking workmanship, and delicate beauty. Thai silk with its natural beauty, unique patterns and colors set it apart from silk made elsewhere. Thus, it enables Thailand to dominate the hand-woven silk market. Though they are luxury market items and tend to be high in price, this market is the best known and most popular for Thai silk fabric.
