Description of the types of Silk fabric

It is estimated about more than 60% of silk fabrics in Thailand are hand-woven results in giving special characteristic for Thai silk. These produce silk fabrics rather thick, offer fine artistry, painstaking workmanship, and delicate beauty. Thai silk has a special luster and unique patterns and color schemes. Their weaving knowledge and skills differ from region to region. Silk fabric from all regions is not inferior to one another since each shows beautiful indigenous culture record. These set it apart from silk made elsewhere and enables Thailand to dominate the hand-woven silk market. They are luxury market items and tend to be high in price. The best known and most popular Thai silk fabric are.

1 Mud-mee (Ikate)

Mud-mee, regarded as the "Queen of Thai Silk" because of its intricate patterns, is a venerable textile traditional of the Norteastern region of Thailand which is different design according to its locality. Mud-mee is made by tying string on the yarns of either the warp or the weft in the desired pattern. The yarns are then dyed, and the exposed portions do not. After dying, the strings are removed and the piece is woven. Its design is mostly tied on the weft; however, in some provinces such as Chiang-mai, Maehongson, Ratchaburi, and Petchaburi, It is done on the warp.


2 Khit
Khit fabrics are made by lifting yarns of the warp (called "kep khit") with a piece of bamboo (mai kep khit) and introducting into the weft extra yarns, which extend from one side of the piece to the other. Khit fabrics can be distinguished by the fact that the extra weft yarns result in ridges of the same color extending across the piece and the the design is repeated. It may or may not extend the length of the piece, but it has definite staring and ending points. Khit fabrics are made all over the Northeastern region and in some provinces of Central region and Northern region. Khit Silk weavign has a sophisticated process particularly at the preparatory stage (The bleaching and dyeing of silk thread). Moreover, the weavers should be capable of knowing how to start and end the whole process before setting up the thread onto the loom and weaving according to the pattern.

3 Yok (Brocade weaving)
rocade is antique silk of Thailand. It mentioned in old Thai literature and a lullaby in the south. Traditionally, gold brocade was only worn among city governors and other senior officails while an ordinary brocade was worn on general occasions and different ceremonies. Most women wore flower design-brocade.

Yok fabrics are made by introducing extra silver or gold weft threads (supplementary weft) in a manner similar to that by whick khit fabrics are made. Pieces thus produced may be used as the ornate border sewn to the bottom of the skirt, or sin, or the technique may be used in weaving both the skirt and the border. Yok fabrics, are well known and very famous, are made in the Northern region particularly in Lamphun. However, in Southern region such as Nakhonsrithammarat is also made Yok fabric for long time.



4 Chok
Chok fabrics are made by introducing extra weft yarns as is done in khit fabrics; however, this is done at intervals. A yarn is not visible across the entire piece. This makes designs much more complex and color combinations than are found in khit fabrics. Chok is mainly woven to decorate the edge of "pha-sin", so it is sometimes called "sin-tin-chok". Its delicate designs are always admirable. All over the Northern region particularly in Nan, Phrae, Uttaradit, Sukhothai, Uthai Thani, and in some provinces of Northeastern region are source of Chok fabrics.




5 Phrae Wa
Phrae Wa fabrics, khit and jok techniques are combined in single piece. The name "phrae wa" comes from the fact the pieces typically have a length of about one "wa", or fathorn. Phrae wa is associated with the Phu Thai, in whose culture such cloth is used on ceremonial occasions. The traditional base color of the phrae wa is red; however, recently both the color and size have been adapted to suit contemporary fashion and tastes.










6 Plain silk
This type of silk fabrics are made by plain weaving usually using yarns of the same color for both the warp and the weft. The color is smooth and generally not patterned. Sometimes different colors are used for the warp or weft, giving striped or checkered patterns.

7 Silk Batik
Silk Batik, one type of silk fabrics in Thailand, is made by sketching designs on cloth and covering portions with wax before dying. The dye is not taken by the wax-covered portions. Northern region such as Phrae and Western region such as Khanchanaburi are famous for silk batik.

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Tin Chok
in Chok is the woven cloth with special hem piece attached which is woven in the discontinuous supplementary web technique. It is beautiful and shows the economic and social status of the people who wear 'pha sin' decorated with Tin Chok Woven Cloth. The word teen chok comes from 2 words, "Teen" and "Chok". The word "Teen" comes from the word "Tin Sin" (the lower border of 'phasin') and the word "Chok" is a verb in the local dialect from the north of Thai yuan language meaning pick. For weaving this type of cloth, the designs of chok are made by using a porcupine's quill or sharpened word to pick or raise color treads in draft designs. The weaving cloth is called pho chok and when decorated, the lower border of pha tung is called "pha tin chok". In the past pha tin chok was produced 10 inches width by weaver from Muang Long. The length of the design is about 1/3 of pha sin. The edge following the design is plain red cloth. The popular colors of the colth are yellow and red. At present many colors have been developed.

In former time, Tin Chok weavign was done only for home use and most weavers worked independently at their houses. Later when cloth weaving was restored, people paid more attention to and villagers started to process cloth for sale in their communities.

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Type of Tin Chok Weaving Cloth
raditionally, weavers wove cloth in the form of pha tim chok or pha sin decorated with tin chok to wear in the important functions, such as, to go to the temple. At present weaving cloth from the village has been developed into many patterns for the benefit to users as follow:

1. Tin Chok is a woven cloth that is sewn with the lower border of pha tung. In the past weavers used (six yard) wraps for weaving. After being woven the pha tin chok is 10 inches and 70 inches long. At present pha tin chok is popular for people and the group using 7-10 yards to 25 yards to weave a whole piece.
2. Breast slash has 7 inches width and 60 inches length There is design in the middle.
3. Shawl is the type of Chok that was developed to cover women's shoulders in cold weather. At present the shawl is popular for northern local dress. Shawls have 18 inches width, 60 inches length. Some people also use shawls for decorating the wall, as table spreads, refrigerator spread etc.
4. Pha tabe is the name of chok cloth. The design of pha tabe is less than tin sin. It is the cloth to decorate with plain cloth. It is beautiful for making dress or decorate with other products. Pha tabe is about 100 inches in length.
At present tin chok woven cloth is used for men's shirt, women's dress, pha tung, women's bag, necktie and various souvenirs.
Production Process
The process needs delicacy, imagination, full attention and patience. The steps of tin chok woven cloth are dyeing thread with natural color. Spinning the thread, weaving and pick in different designs. The cloth are cut and sewn in various types of goods.

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Plain weave
lain weave is the simplest method of weaving; the weft thread passes over and under each ward thread, then under and ever on the following line. Although the method is simple there are many variations that enable the weaver to create amazing textures and light variations. The warp may be a thicker ply then the weft, or the weft thicker than the warp, or the two may be the same ply, described as a balance weave. Plain weave can produce monochrome fabric, or 'shor silk, the warp one color and the weft another colour. This creates tonal variations across the surface of the fabric that change according to the direction of light. Tonal quality can be enhanced by plying (twisting) two yarns of different colours or tones together, either in the warp or in the weft, or in both warp and weft. This technique is known as 'hang karok'. The shimmering, marbled effect created in this way can be further enhanced by plying the yarns in an 'S' direction in the warp and a 'Z' direction in the weft, or vice versa.

A more complex application of this technique is employed in the production of plaid designs Sets of coloured striped yarns in the warp are crossed with sets of colours in the weft to create a 'shot' effect in squares. This technique may include plying yarns in the warp and contrasting the ply (in a 'Z' or 'S' direction) in the weft. This technique creates squares of shot silk in a range of colours that when truned towards lights light produce a marble effect. Plaid designs often include rows of white silk in the warp and weft, used to outline and enhance the squares.

Plain weave was used for women's skirts where horizontal stripes formed the main design. The plain weave might have a few rows of plied yarns (hang karok) set at intervals between the stripes. Waistbands and the lower hem borders for skirts were also woven in plain weave.

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Continuous Supplementary Weft (Khit)
his simplest way of creating supplementary weft is to hand pick the patterns row by row using a woodern sword to create a shed for the intersection of the supplementary weft, woven from selvage to selvage. This was a common technique in the inland states although women also used a pre-determined system in which shed sticks were inserted in the warp to simplify and accelerate the process. Simple supplementary weft designs involve two to four rows of pattern set between rows of plain weave. Gold and silver metal threads were introduced in this way. Supplementary weft designs could be repeated continuously, or the patterns could be set at intervals. Star shaped flowers(lai dok pi kun), 'pretty' flowers (lai dok soey), zig zags (lai khlun) and diamonds patterns (lai khao lam tat) are examples of the supplementary weft patterns used for female court dress. Some supplementary weft designs are set in isolated motifs. They were probably introduced into Lanna in the late 19th century and were based on designs produced in the southern Siamese provinces of Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani and Pattani.

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Ikat (matmi)
he ikat technique involves tie-dyeing yarn into patterns before weaving. The yarns that are tied resist the dye when immersed in a dye bath. The yarn is re-tied and re-dipped if more than one colour is required. Lawa and Tai groups, particularly the Tai Lao use this technique.

Discontinuous Supplementary weft (jok)
he most refined supplementary weft technique is called jok meaning 'to pick'. Patterns are formed by the use of multicoloured 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 extreamly time consuming, one band 16-18 cms in length and take from six to eight weeks to produce.

he designs are laid out in a basic format. Narrow bands of repeat patterns are set in rows above and below a central design of repeat diamonds (lai khao lam tat) or hexagons, with smaller designs set inside and around the outside of each one. The designs include stylised roof gables (chofa), monuments (stupa), offering bowls (kan kra hyong), water jugs (nam ton), birds (nok), swans (hong or hongsa), climbing snakes or sea serpents (ngu loi), jasmine flowers (mali leuai or dok mali), non-specific floral patterns (lai dork), diamonds (lai khao lam tat) and hooks (lar ko krua).

common design found in the top and bottom border of teen jok is a bird (nok) or two birds of the same colour facing each other (lai nok ku). The single birds and bird pairs, form a repeat, in varying colours. The birds may be referred to as swans (hong), or paired swans (lai hong ku), sleeping swans (hong nawn) or, if they are black lai hong dum. Some weavers say that is the birds are set inside the central design, usually a diamond shape, they are just called 'swans' (hong or hongsa). Other border designs include hooks (lai ko krua) and small diamonds (lai khao lam tat), floral designs, triangles and zig zags, temple roof gables (chofa), and offering bowls (kan kra hyong). Some border designs are called 'Chiang Saen outside' while the inside designs are referred to as 'Lakhon Lampang' inside. The Chiang Saen pattern included birds (nok), set in traingles, edged with hooks, while the Lampang pattern had a central design of paired black swans (lai hong dum), set in diamonds. All the designs to 'teen jok' have a vertical pendant pattern interwoven across the lower hem. This design is known as hang sapao (hang s'pao) and is described as the line of ripples created on the water in the wake of a boat.

here are other teen jok designs that have one name for the whole pattern, for example 'tortoiseshell' and 'flock of birds'. There are also simple geometric designs worked with only gold and silver metal thread on a black cotton ground. As metal thread is more difficult to manipulate when used in such density the design are relatively simple.

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Phasin or women's tube skirt
hiangmai's traditional phasin design structure was composed of three basic parts: the waist-band, the main body and the hem piece. The waist band was usually in two parts, red and white and made in cotton, Tha main body of the phasin usually horizontally striped in cotton or silk with one side seam. The stripes, being in the warp, were arranged with even spacing known as sin ta or sin kan sometimes using a twisted yarn known as pan kai or hang karok. More rarely, some phasin had two side seams but this was due to technical restrictions whereby a supplementary brocade decoration was desired and had to be put in the weft. The resulting phasin was worn with the brocade in horizontal stripes requiring two side seams. The hem piece was either plain in colour, usually red or black or decorated in supplementary weft over the upper half. The latter were called tinchok.

he main body of the everyday phasin were made in silk or cotton, using one main colour. This main colour differed, including pink, brown, pale blue, yellow etc. Silk phasin were later woven on a wide loom thus not requiring a seperate hem or waist band although perhaps one waistband was added in white cotton to facilitate wearing.

or special occasions a pha sin tin chok was worn. This is a phasin with a decorative hem piece or tinchok classically woven with a lower plain red section and upper supplementary woven section made on black background. These hem pieces were woven upside down using a narrow beater. When they were sewn to the main body of the phasin only one side seam was necessary. The classic structure for these hem pieces was a row of lozenges in the central field, called Khom Chiang Saen boardered by two reperative smaller sections. The lower section was finished with tampal-like points called hang sapao. These hang sapao were usually black, yellow or white, or alternating in two colours. Many motifs were used in these hem pieces but a favourited motif of the Tai Yuan was a mythical bird or pair of birds facing each other drinking water from the same water vase.

he ordinary phasin of the old woven was called sin lae or sin kan kho khwai. This was plain black with two horizontal broad stripeds in red placed near the waist band and the hem, reminiscent of the broad red bands on the Lawa people's phasin. This developed into only one band near the hem later.

It is unfortunate that today the weaving of tinchok is no longer practised except in the district of Viang Yong in Lamphun provinces where the women still wear the traditional phasin on special occasions such as going to the temple.

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Pha chet or shoulder cloth
hile the women chose to wear plain coloured, imported cloth for their shoulder cloths, the men distinguisted their everyday costume from ceremonial or special by adding a pha chet or shoulder cloth. This was a small cloth woven by their sweethearts or wives and was often worn when courting the young lady concerned. It was rectangular in shape with supplementary decorations at the two ends leaving the rest plain white. It was made in cotton with cotton supplementary yarns and oftern used as a handkerchief, folded in half and worn over the left shoulder. These rare little textiles have been lost on the whole but for a few pieces.

A more decorative cloth similar in structure to the Tai Lue pha chet (long and narrow with supplementary weft designs almost throughout) was used by the the villager in northern of Thailand as a ceremonial cloth either to be worn as a shoulder cloth for a wedding ceremony or to wrap the face of the dead for cremation. The supplementary yarns were always brown and black cotton depicting mythical creatures, hook designs and some spirit and human figures. The cloth was decorated at each end in about five bands of supplementary weft leaving a small section in plain white in the centre which was woven in twill designs. Very few old examples remain today.

Pha lop or bedsheets and pha hom or blankets
lain white cotton woven on narrow looms was joined together to create bedsheets with a narrow decoration at one end, usually in geometric designs with the exception of those of the Tai Lue from Samoeng which were typically using zoonorphic figures.

he blankets were woven in various forms of twill weave including popular diamond and herringbone twills which required four to eight heddles. The arrangment of the traditional red, black and white yarns was often in a chech (pha hom ta kong) plaid or simple marrow stripe employing two or all three colours. To achieve the width of a blanket, two colths were joined together down the centre and for night blankets (pha tuap) the length was doubled for extra warmth. Warm wraps (pha tum) however were made similarily but in one layer only and were used particularily by the old people during the days and evenings of the colder months.

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'Mon' or Pillows
illows used by Tai Yuan in the past were cube in shape, made in four to six sections stuffed with kapok . The central section was white cotton with decorated ends using geometric designs in continuous supplementary weft. Today these are still made in some district in Chiangmai and Lamphun to recieve guests, as gift or as offerings to the temple. These were called mon hok.

nother type are the mon pha that are triangular like the central Thai pillows, decorated on the face of the pillow with embrodered and applied silver yarns. These are used in wedding and ordination ceremonies.

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Pha ho khamphi or woven book binders
he ancient sacred religious scripts which were written on narrow palm leaves and kept in the temple libraries were wrapped in cloths know as pha ho khamphi. These were woven in cotton or mixed media using bamboo stiffening and bound around the edges with a plain seperately woven cloth, usually red or white cotton and backed with the same. Various systems of wrapping bamboo stripes with brightly coloured cottons to create geometric patterns of stepped squares, diagonals, stripes or lozenges were emplowed.

he pah ho khamphi of Samoeng however, show more Tai Lue influence, as do all their textiles, in the use of supplementary weft designs of zoomorphic and geometric patterns. The colours used were only red and black on the white ground. These were bound and backed in red or white cloth and sometimes stifferened on the long edge with bamboo.

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Tung or banners
anners were woven for the purpose of making merit. They would be presented to the temple on both festive and solemn occasions. By presenting them to the temple people were making an offering to the Buddha. The ladder structure of the tung however, hails from an earlier period when the ladderlike structure enabled the deceased to go to heaven on the ladder. The temples are hung with the banners inside and out on special occasions, in particular the festival to celebrate the completion of new temple buildings called ngan poy luang. They may even be placed on the routes leading to the temple to encourage people to come by displaying them in this way. The Chiang Mai style of banner was usually in an open weave like a cobweb called tung yai. These used large cotton yarns alternating with bamboo slats. Additional decorations of paper flowers, garlands or other items were placed along the length of the tung at intervals called the bai hai and also hanging below to create a "tail". Other open style tung yai were made by binding, wrapping or crochet of the cotton around the bamboo slats. Today simple materials are used which do not necessitate weaving. Commercial cloth is cut to size and decorated with do not necessitate weaving. Commercial cloth is cut to size and decorated with gold paper and frills. Sometimes the pater is glued to the cloth in cutout patterns. For auspicious ceremonies a banner called a tung chai is made. This is very long and made in any of the techniques previously mentioned.

or funeral ceremonies a short banner is made of cloth or paper and used to lead the funeral procession. The form is that of a human figure with three tails and thus called the tung sam hang.

'Thung Yarm' or Shoulder bags
he Tai Yuan Chiangmai shoulder bag is a simple design using a white and thin black striped cotton in two sizes. The weaving equipnet used is measured to create a cloth which need not be cut, but folded to create a bag. The large sixe is 28 centimetres wide and small 16 to 24 centimetres wide. This style of shoulder bag is seen throughout the region and is traditional to the Tai Yuan.

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