Thailand Silk Import And Export & Thai Silk Buyers

Silky Stylings

2012-06-02T05:51:00.004-07:00

Five thousand years ago, when modern forms of writing had not yet been invented and Egyptian hieroglyphics were just developing, some farmer or worker or emperor of China discovered silk making. I wonder what induced that person to look in the mulberry bushes, pick through the tiny silk worm cocoons, and spin them into thread.

Mulberry bushes at Angkor d' Artisans

Silk worms; moths; cocoons

Silk is something we take for granted, now. It is another fabric that we can pick up in markets, stores, and boutiques. We line our purses, wrap our necks, and clothe ourselves in dresses and shirts all made of silk. We had no idea how much labor goes into producing a small silk scarf until we visited Artisans d'Angkor in Siem Reap. a small silk scarf until we visited Artisans d'Angkor in Siem Reap.

Cocoons

The silk moth lays about 500 eggs in a period of four to six days and then dies. The eggs grow into small worms which became adults in about 20 days. According to Wikipedia, in order to produce 2 pounds of silk, 3000 silkworms need to eat 230 pounds of mulberry leaves. The silk worms spin cocoons to turn into moths. About 75% of the cocoons are used in the silk weaving process and the remaining 25% hatch from the cocoons into moths to produce more eggs.

Cocoons ready to be boiled

The workers boil the cocoons with the live moths inside. Frankly, I find this disgusting. I know that they are insects, it is questionable whether they can feel pain, and most people don't care if they live or die, but it seems wrong to me to boil an insect alive in the name of fashion. But, maybe I am just being overly sensitive. (Apparently, there is a type of silk promoted by Mahatma Gandhi called Ahimsa Silk made from cocoons in which the pupae have been extracted or have naturally flown away.)

Rough silk threads extracted from boiled cocoons

A woman sits with a hand crank all day long to extract the rough silk threads from the boiled cocoons which are then dyed using natural and artificial dyes. The women spin the silk into even thinner fibers until they glisten and glimmer like webbing from a spider.

Spinning raw silk into thin fibers

The women then convert the silk threads into amazing designs which is then woven into scarves, ties, and other fabrics with a loom. Amazingly, the women don't listen to music or watch television while performing these wholly monotonous jobs.

Spools of silk thread

We also saw no men working in the silk factory; perhaps silk weaving is traditionally considered "woman's work." (In the same regard, we never saw any female tuk tuk drivers.) These women work long hours and come from nearby villages to produce the beautiful products we found at the end of the tour.

Weaving silk design with a loom

Though we purchased nothing at Artisans d'Angkor, we have gained a newfound appreciation for this labor-intensive and beautiful material.

Unravelling the Secrets of Silk Production

2012-06-02T05:36:00.006-07:00

I get the sense here that we are not too far out from making silk without involving a lot of silkworms. We are getting into critical details here and it appears that it practically self assembles in a two phase process that is surely tricky but no more so than many other manufacturing processes.
It would be neat to produce a synthetic product identical to the natural product. Silk is generally superior to most fiber and cheap supply is a good start. This also suggests how to tweak the process to achieve and sustain best quality.
Again the natural world is feeling the full press of modern research numbers as never before. Few such secrets will remain uncovered and that is great.

Unravelling the secrets of silk production,Oct 11, 2010

    The secrets behind the mighty strength of silk could be unravelled by neutron-scattering experiments being carried out in France. Early results have revealed that silk worms spin their silky threads in a process that seems completely counterintuitive to what is expected. On a domestic note, the findings provide some practical tips for anyone wondering how to wash their silk products.
    For such an elegant material, silk is incredibly durable, possessing a tensile strength comparable with steel. These properties combine to make silk a highly desirable product. But despite being ubiquitous in luxury textiles throughout the centuries, the process of silk formation inside the body of silk worms has remained something of a mystery, with different scientists proposing varying explanations.
    One of the practical limitations when studying silk is that at any given time each silk worm has only minute amounts of silk's precursor proteins inside its body. So any scientific programme to study silk requires the upkeep of large numbers of silk worms followed by the careful extraction of silk samples. Given these difficulties, previous silk studies have used "regenerated" silk proteins, obtained by breaking down silk worm cocoons with high salt concentrations then mixing samples.

Native silk

In this research, a team led by Cedric Dicko of the University of Oxford has for the first time studied the production of pure silk, extracted in small quantities from silk worms. Using a series of small angle neutron-scattering experiments at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), the team was able to hone in on relatively small samples of the large biological molecules that form silk.
    Dicko's team discovered that proteins are abundant inside the worm, with concentrations of up to 400 mg/ml. Unusually for this concentration, the proteins showed very little interaction, instead forming a compact helical structure with a radius of gyration of 90 nm. However, the situation changed as the researchers diluted the silk solution with water, which caused the proteins to unfold to 130 nm and start to combine into the ordered filaments of silk.
    "This is an extraordinarily high concentration for the proteins to remain stably dispersed throughout the solution," says Dicko. "Even stranger, as the concentration drops the proteins begin to expand and flow, until they eventually clump together – this is the reverse of what we'd expected."

Saving silk shirts

The finding that water plays such a key role in giving silk its strength has implications for those in possession of silk products. "Dry-cleaning silks can strip away the moisture and weaken the fibres in silk garments, leaving them more likely to get damaged," says Phil Callow, one of the researchers, based full-time at the ILL. Callow provides reassurance, however, that if one were to make the mistake of dry-cleaning a silk shirt, they should be able to return it to its original condition by steaming it gently.
    Callow explained that neutrons were used to examine silk because they offer advantages over other diffraction experiments, such as X-rays, which can damage the samples under study. He revealed that Dicko is set to return to the ILL in December to continue this research by investigating the effects of temperature variation on silk production.

The latest findings are described in a paper in Soft Matter.

About the author
James Dacey is a reporter for physicsworld.com

How to Clean a Silk Dress

2012-06-02T03:55:00.000-07:00

How to Clean a Silk Dress

Things You Need

White vinegar
Shampoo or mild soap
Soft sponge
Thick towels

Note: White vinegar, Shampoo or mild soap, Soft sponge, Thick towels

If you're afraid to wear your fabulous silk dress to a party for fear of damaging it, a few cleaning tips can help you out and save you big on dry cleaning. While this delicate fabric requires careful handling, most silk clothing does well with hand washing in mild soap. Removing stains from a silk evening dress is a little trickier, but it is still something you can do at home. You do, however, need the right technique to avoid roughening or dulling the fabric. Find out how to wash a silk dress correctly so your dress keeps its soft texture and original color for years.

Cleaning Silk Dresses:

Spot treat stains. Blotting silk clothing with cool water will treat most food stains. For perspiration or deodorant stains, apply diluted vinegar to the area with a soft sponge.
Fill a clean sink or washtub with lukewarm water. Add two or three drops of hair shampoo or mild soap and stir the water to create lather. Immerse the silk dress and let it soak for no more than five minutes.
Rub stained or very dirty spots with soapy water. Use your fingers or a soft sponge to apply very light pressure. Avoid scrubbing the silk, which can permanently damage the fibers.
Drain the warm water and fill the sink with cool water. Add 1/4 cup white vinegar to neutralize alkalinity and remove traces of soap. This softens the silk and restores its shine. For extra softness, add a few drops of hair conditioner. Use this water to rinse the dress.
Replace the used water with fresh water. Rinse the silk dress again in pure, cool water with no fabric softeners or other additives. Turn the dress as you rinse it to ensure water runs over all areas of the garment and no traces of soap remain.
Remove the dress from the water. Spread the dress on a thick terry-cloth towel and roll it up in the towel, pressing as you go, to absorb excess water. Lay the dress flat on another dry towel or a sweater dryer to air dry.

Tips:

If you have hard water, add one teaspoon of borax to the water for the wash and the first rinse water.
Brighten white silk by adding one teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide to the wash.
If you want your dress to dry more quickly, use a sweater dryer, a net stretched over a frame. A sweater dryer is ideal for drying silk items because it lets the garment lie flat but receive air from both sides.
Very delicate silk items, such as silk brocade or dresses with beading, require dry cleaning to avoid damage. Don't submerge a dress such as this in water.
Before treating stains or cleaning a silk dress, check for color fastness. Dampen the fabric or apply your preferred stain remover to an inconspicuous part of the dress. If the color runs or changes, dry clean the dress.

Silk Making in 6 Steps

2012-06-02T02:36:00.000-07:00

Silk Making in 6 Steps

Wichai lailawitmongkhol is a professor at chulalongkorn university in bangkog. he is teaching at the faculty of architecture, in the department of industrial design. In march 2008 designboom visited together with him
a tiny village of silk producers and weavers in north-east thailand.
for the past five years, wichai has been teaching a group of women the techniques of the ancient art of silk making. the village ‘hong hae’ has ca. 60 families living in it. 10 of these families are currently involved in wichai's project. In order to support the community, the men, from december to february, harvest the rice patties. Then most men leave the village to go to bangkok for the better part of the year, where they work as unskilled laborers. To support their families, they leave the village because there are no other jobs available in these area. Wichai realized that revitalizing the crafts of dying and weaving can provide immense value to the inhabitants. By introducing new advanced skills to the woman left behind in the villages, wichai is providing a new means of employment. the extra income earned through the manufacturing of textiles allows the men to stay in the villages for longer periods, helping stabilize their situation.
while the women already have basic weaving and dying skills, wichai is teaching them more intricate and advanced techniques in order to bring their silk works to the attention of a larger and maybe international market. these skilled families now have a more profound knowledge which they can in turn transmit to the others in their village. In the following pages designboom documents the process of traditional silk making and will soon present to our readers a collection of hand-made silk scarves of this village, to support wichai’s work and the community’s welfare. enjoy!

update - you can now help support the community featured in this article
by purhcasing a 'natural silk scarf' from the designboom shop.

Silk cocoons in bamboo tray.

Close-up to silk cocoons.

The dyeing process.

Dyed silk yarn

Weaving on a wooden loom.

Silk scarves in ‘bamboo-green’

50 km from this small village is the largest silk producing conglomerate in the north east region of thailand. The ‘pha toom thong’ company, headed by mrs. saengdeun (pui), located in ‘na pho’, in the province of ‘buri rum’. This image shows wichai and the owner of the company, mrs. pui.

The ‘pha toom thong’ company has been producing silk textiles since two generations and is the official silk supplier to the thai royal family. the company is quite unique because they employ over 300 families all trained in traditional silk making techniques. some work at the company while the rest work from their homes. Wichai is also collaborating with this company because of his exquisite textile design expertise. This image shows birgit lohmann and massimo mini from designboom together with mrs. saengdeun and wichai lailawitmongkhol.

Currently 2 of wichai’s students of the textile design course gain experience in an internship at this company. Both are learning the traditional silk techniques in hopes that one day they too will be able to start their own silk producing companies. this image shows the interns nan (left) and pang (right) together with wichai.

Silk Making Step 1: Raising SilkWorms and Harvesting Cocoons

2012-05-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

Silkworms are really not worms at all. silk worms are the larvae of ‘bombyx mori’ moths and silkworms are actually domesticated insects. native to china, the silkworm does not longer exist in the wild, after so many centuries of inbreeding the silkworm is incapable of flight, mates quickly after emerging from its crysalis, and dies a day or so after laying its eggs. Designboom illustrates the several stages of sericulture, which begins with hatching silkworm eggs ...

An ounce of silkworm eggs yields about 35,000 worms, during gestation, which lasts approximately three weeks, the eggs must stay between 25 and 31 °C, in a tray with high humidity. As they hatch, each of the tiny creatures must be carefully moved to a ‘petri dish’, a circular flat bamboo tray, to be fed with fresh mulberry leaves several times a day. When the baby silkworms emerge from their eggs, they are really tiny, about the size of a lowercase ‘i’, and almost black. From the moment they emerge they start eating with an enthusiasm that never abates. When designboom entered the farmer’s household we could hear them constantly chewing. The worms are protected from harmful flying insects by wrapping the trays in homespun cotton.

The newly born silkworm only eats mulberry leaves. a silk farmer must have a ready supply of mulberry leaves and fruits close at hand, even one missed feeding can kill the sericulture. there are times of the year when the mulberry leaves are not around... continued food shortages can decrease the quality of silk any survivors make. If there are shortages anyway, lettuce makes a decent emergency dish, as long as it is well-washed (pesticides kill) and dried thoroughly.

Despite revolutionary changes in methods of manufacture, the ultimate basis of silk remains the tiny, inconspicuous-looking silkworm and the most critical period in silk production comes during the silkworm’s brief life span of around 20/24 days. Nearly all silkworm-producing moths belong to the family ‘bombycidae’, of which one member, ‘bombyx mori’ is responsible for most of the world’s silk.

At the beginning every few days, the worms need to be moved to a clean tray with fresh food. Members of the farmer’s household must spend a growing amount of time to their bamboo trays, also because silkworms produce quite a lot of excrement and cleaning the trays is not a job for the weak-stomached. They continue feeding and moving the silkworms, dividing the colonies when the silkworms are too large or hungry for the numbers in that tray. by the fourth week, the largest of the silkworms will be more than 5 cm. long, fat, and hungry enough that they need to be fed every day.

An easy test confirms their readiness to cocooning. the farmer picks them up and looks between their rear pair of legs, from the underside. if there is a gray mass there, the caterpillar isn't quite ready, but if it's milky and translucent, the silkworm has pooped its last and is definitely ready. the worms suddenly stop eating and raise their heads - another sign that they are ready for the all-important job of spinning cocoons.

At that stage they are removed from their feeding trays.

The ‘bombyx mori’ worms are now inserted in a specially woven circular bamboo scaffolding, which will make the cocoons more uniform in shape and easier to collect.

Again, worms are protected from harmful flying insects by wrapping the trays with fine nets. There seems to be always a few dead silkworms in each tray. While a dramatic increase in the mortality rate is reason for concern, silkworms are insects, and farmers can expect that less than half of the silkworms will reach full maturity.

Each silkworm now doubles itself up on its back, and by contracting secretes, from an opening under its mouth, a steady stream of liquid silk, coated with sericin, which hardens on exposure to air. they're starting to lay out the support strands for their cocoons, although they may not yet be serious about cocooning.

Some of the larger caterpillars are climbing the walls of the tray (they've done this before, to shed their skins, but this time their heads are pointing toward the lid) and the busy silkworms are guided by figure of eight movements of their heads, to dispose the liquid silk in layers, forming the cocoon.

After some 36 hours, the worms are sealed within a yellow cocoon, embarked on the process of metamorphosing into a moth.

The worms have spun thousands of gossamer little cocoons.

The satisfactory cocoons are now in a clean tray. see the lustrous, golden color. Care must be taken not to damage them when removing from the old trays. The entire process, from silkworm egg to complete cocoon, takes about twenty-five days. Silk worms transform themselves, inside the cocoon, into a chrysalis and then into a butterfly...

Most of the cocoons are used for the next step in silk making but some of them leave the cocoon as a butterfly. It usually secretes a liquid onto the silk threads to dissolve them, so it can emerge. The new moths must be moved to another tray so the mess they make while mating and laying eggs doesn't get all over the hard-earned silkcocoons. the males (small) will die once the deed is done, while the females will stick around to lay about 200 - 300 eggs each.

Silk Making Step 2: Thread Extraction

2012-05-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

The story of silk began more than four thousand years ago in the court of china’s first emperor. it is said that a young concubine named lei tsu, by way of experiment, has discovered the ‘finest natural textile thread known to man’. the art of waving silk, first restricted to members of the imperial court spread to lower levels of chinese society and achieved widespread fame. gradually a trade route to the west emerged. a tortuous passage known as ‘silk road’ wandered through hostile lands and ended thousands of miles away at market places in the middle east. for centuries only the chinese knew the secrets of silk production and the exportation of silkworms was strictly forbidden. around 140 BC silkworm eggs and and mulberry cuttings reached khotan, in present-day afghanistan, allegedly smuggled by a chinese princess who went to marry the king and found the prospect of a silkless life unbearable. from then it went to india and a century later to korea and japan; around the same time the art was moving south with chinese minority groups into present-day indo-china and thailand. Since then silk weaving is an integral part of north east thailand’s countless villages.

The fresh and fragile cocoons are ready to be scooped into the reeling pot. each cocoon consists of many yards of tightly woven silk thread.

Most steps of traditional silk making in thailand’s villages in the north-east are done by women and take place in open areas. in the reeling process, a special wooden device is used to locate the end of the filament, after which it must be carefully unwound, a process that not only requires hard work over a boiling pot, but also practiced skill to keep the threads unbroken. the village woman immerses the cocoons in boiling water to help soften the thick gum coating.

In the cultivation of silkworms, to not damage the continuity of the thread, the cocoons are placed in boiling water to kill the chrysalis.

It begins to unwind, forming an extraordinarily long thread of great strength yet as delicate as a spider’s web.

A spatula removes the outside layers of the cocoon, then, having found the end of the single cocoons.

The silk thread is rolled on a reel.

Silk thread

Detail of silk thread

After this process, the remaining, cooked silkworm will be eaten by the village youngsters. it contains a lot of protein ...

Thread

Silk Making Step 3: Dyeing

2012-05-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

After washing and degumming, there is a bleaching (and drying) process before dyeing.

Most of the dyes are obtained from natural resources of the immediate sourrounding, offering an exquisite palette of different hues. these leaves of the wild indigo plant are a major source of natural black or blue, other colors are obtained from:
Yellow - jackfruit
Orange - bisea
Red - sappanwood
Maroon, pink and purple red - lac
Green - myrobalan
Grey - coconut
Blue-grey - eucalyptus
Green-grey - butterfly pea
Purple grey - simarubaceae
Brown - cutch
Khaki - mango and cutch ...

Dried indigo. all stages of the process are performed by the women of the village, from plant harvesting, through dye vat care, to the dyeing step itself.

The blue dye derived from crushing and composting the indigo plant. the natural fermentation process reduces the indigo in a vat changing the colour from yellow to green to blue after exposure to air. the only ingredients required are the indigo cake, soda ash, wheat bran and madder (an enzyme that creates the fermentation and deoxidizes the indigo).

The colour derived from soaking fabric in hot mixture of indigo leaves. The bundles of threads are soaked in the dye pots for several times over many days to achieve the proper color tone and quality. then the colours need to be fixed (roots of natural morinda germinata are reported to serve as a fixing agent). These traditional methods of dye production have elsewhere al most been driven to commercial extinction, and dyeing with synthetic indigo and a wide variety of other synthetic colors is booming.
Sin this study (conducted by professor wichai lailawitmongkhol -see intro page) the indigenous practices are documented and taught to the village people before they are completely lost.

After the process the threads are hanging out to dry.

Beautiful color variations of the yarn, ready for spinning onto bobbins.

Silk Making Step 4: spinning

2012-05-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

Even today, despite the introduction of a wide range of new techniques, the traditional spinning wheelis still necessary for a variety of purposes. spinning wheels are used for unwinding dyed silk skeins onto bobbins for the warping process.

Bamboo spools.

Preparing the thread involves multiple steps.

The woman is winding the spool by the means of a hand crank.

Another threading step.

Bobbins.

Detail of bobbins with batch numbers.

The silk thread moves from the bobbins through a worker’s hands onto a spinning device.

The spinning device is powered by bycicle pedals and finishes the thread.

By passing through the hands the silk thread acquires a lustrious sheen.

Finalized silk thread, ready to be woven.

Each batch of thread is weight and sent to the looms.

Silk Making Step 5 : Weaving

2012-05-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

Setting up the warp. the threads of each spool pass though suspended loops, then through holes in a warping paddle. the large warping board stands upright. The warp being drawn up and down as one works from left to right pegs. The end is slipped onto the warp beam and the whole spread evenly before being rolled onto the beam.

The weaving begins by pushing down the harness to separate the two sets of warp threads, leaving space to shoot the shuttle alternately back and forth.

The wooden loom is found beneath houses throughout north-eastern thailand, where silk-making is still a cottage industry. While there are some large factories near bangkok which make lower-end silk cloth, the finer silk is almost exclusively made by women working family-owned looms in their homes.

Weaving
The lengthwise threads of a woven material are called the ‘warp’. a lightweight silk fabric can have over 2,000 warp yarns. the weaver sends the wooden shuftle flying from side to side by pulling on a cord while simoultanously ‘beating up’ the weft yarn. the basic weaving technique uses the same or different colors in the warp and weft. some villages are experimenting with new designs and color combinations, yet still using their traditional techniques and basic patterns.

The weaver opens the warp by stepping on pedals. the hands and feet must work in perfect unison to enable the warp and weft yarns to interlace correctly.

The wooden loom

A village craftsman does the final braiding.

Silk scarves waiting for braiding.

Detail of unfinished silk scarf.

Finishing the silk scarves requires a lot of patience from the craftsmen.

Finishing the silk scarves - after beginning the braid, the craftsman rolls it on the leg.

Braids

Completed silk scarves.

Silk Making Step 6: ikat

2012-05-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

‘ikat’ - a term adopted from the malay word ‘mengikat’, which means ‘to bind, tie or wrap around’ - is known in thai as ‘mud mii’. the process involves dyeing only certain segments of the yarn, achieved by first wrapping those parts that are to remain undyed. ikat weaving is one of the most complicated and time consuming ways to pattern cloth.

On the right side of this picture you can see the pattern, that the yarn weaving should form. in thailand, traditionally it was used for women’s skirts and for pantaloon - ‘phanung’ in thai - for both, men and women. it was reserved for important occasions, such as weddings and always kept stored in chests of scented wood. elaborate ikat patterns like this are often handed down from generation to generation in the same family.

The threads here featured are pre-dyed in orange color and the warp strings are arranged into bundles. each bundle is tied and dyed separately, so that a pattern will emerge when the loom is set up. this takes a good deal of skill.

Tthe warp threads have been stretched onto a frame.the pattern is formed by wrapping dye resist strips onto areas that prevents saturation of color..the 'programmed' pattern appears.

An expert carefully measures out on the yarn the scheme of the pattern. threads can be patterned by repeated binding.

The yarn itself gets patterned. along each length of yarn the colour changes according to the precise formula necessary for the greater fabric design of which it forms a part. now the yarns can be immersed in a second dye bath.

After the threads are dyed the loom is set up. the pattern is visible to the weaver when the dyed threads are used as warp. handloom weaving is always extremely complex work, but the combination of mental and physical effort is much greater when the fabric contains patterns formed by the incorporation of different or uniquely dyed yarns.

Dying the weft makes it much more difficult to make ikats with precise patterns. the weft is one continuous strand that is woven back and forth, so any errors in how the string is tied and dyed are cumulative. because of this, weft ikats are usually used when the precision of the pattern is not the main concern. some patterns become transformed by the weaving process into irregular and erratic designs.

Thai Silk Villages

2012-05-30T10:17:00.001-07:00

During a recent trip from our Thailand holiday villa to my home village, I noticed a lot of activity in the old wooden houses along my soi, or street. Sitting outside and sheletered from the sun, villagers were busying themselves with the time-honoured cottage industry of Thai silk production. Each family was focussed on a diffferent task, depending upon the lifecycle stage of their silkworms. Some were feeding their caterpillars on fresh mulberry leaves; others were transferring the fully grown specimens to spinning baskets (where the silken cocoon is woven), whilst others were busy weaving threads that had already been spun and dyed.
The simplicity of the equipment used and the traditional methods employed may have appeared antedeluvian, yet the quality of the final woven Thai silk was incomparable, resplendent in traditional Isaan motifs.

How to clean silk

2012-05-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

Although relatively durable, silk is protein fiber similar to human hair and does require special care to stay looking good. By knowing the right way to clean, dry, iron, and store silk, one can keep the silk garments in top condition for years.

Washing silk. All silk is washable, however you should treat silk as you would treat your hair. No harsh detergents, no excessive drying or heat. Dry cleaning is possible, but hand washing is recommended for silk items to maintain the natural luster. Silk can be hand washed in cool or lukewarm water using a mild detergent. Because silk resists dirt and stains, only a small amount of soap should be used. A good shampoo works well on silk. It will remove oil and revitalize your silk. Do not use an alkaline shampoo or one which contains ingredients such as wax, petroleum, or their derivatives, as these products will leave a residue on your silk and may cause "oil" spots. Technically, silk does not shrink like other fibers. If the silk fabric is not tightly woven, washing silk will tighten up the weave...thus, lighter weights of silk can be improved by washing as it will tighten up the weave. A tightly woven silk will not "shrink" or will "shrink" a lot less.
Thai silk does not tolerate abrupt changes in temperature very well, so stay with one water temperature throughout the wash. Avoid soaking silk as this may fade the dye. To revive faded or yellowed colors rinse the silk fabric in water with a few tablespoons of white vinegar.
Drying silk. To dry silk cloth do not wring but roll the silk item up in a bath towel and gently press the water out.
Ironing silk. Silk may yellow and fade with the use of a high iron setting. Dampen the silk garment with water before ironing. To avoid damage, turn the item inside out and iron on the reverse side of the fabric on a cotton-covered ironing board. Use a low setting and it is recommended not to use steam.
Storing silk. Keep the silk garment away from heat sources or direct sunlight.

How to recognize real handmade Thai silk

2012-05-30T09:59:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately, a lot of the Thai "silk" available for purchase is fake. If you are thinking to buy 100% pure Thai silk but you don't know how to recognize real silk fabric from silk imitation, here are a couple of hints.

First, check the luster: if you hold 100% silk fabric to the light, it will usually look different according to the angle you hold it. The reflection of fake Thai silk will always look white, independently of the angle you hold it in the light.

Second, handmade Thai silk will usually have small flaws in the fabric. This is not a sign of bad quality, but the guarantee that the silk handcraft that you are holding is handmade and therefore 100% unique.

Finally, if you are still not sure, you can use the definitive test: burn it! No kidding! You don't need to burn it all, take a couple of small loose silk threads and light them with a match or a lighter. If the the silk you are burning is an imitation it will melt and small balls of material will accumulate at the end of the thread. Real Thai silk on the other hand will smell like burned hair.

If you are planning to buy Thai silk from the Internet, you came to the right place. In our online shop you will find only 100% pure Thai silk. Guaranteed.

The benefits of silk

2012-05-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

All products will definitely bring an elegant touch to your home decor or a luxurious detail for your outfit. Whether it is a silk cushion cover, a table runner, an elegant silk bathrobe or a scarf, it won't go unnoticed.
But silk is not just about how it looks, silk also has innumerable other advantages, among which:

Silk is a 100% natural fabric.
Silk is a natural protein structure, therefore silk cloth is among the most hypoallergenic of all fabrics.
Thanks to silk’s natural thermostatic properties, silk clothes will keep you warm in winter and cool in summer.
Silk will keep you warm without being bulky.
Silk absorbs perspiration while letting your skin breathe.
Silk is a natural fire retardant material, making silk one of the safest fabrics for bedding or cushions!
Silk has the same type of amino acids as human skin, therefore it is said that silk fabric can prevent vascular sclerosis, arthritis and delay the appearance of wrinkles.

Silk: 14 Facts and Myths

2012-05-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

Fact: Sericulture, or production of silk, has been practiced in Thailand for more than 3000 years.

Fact: One silkworm moth lays approximately 500 eggs over a 4-6 days period.
Fact: To produce the finest quality silk, the silkworm caterpillars are kept on excessive fresh mulberry leaves diet.
Myth: Silk is difficult to take care of. Not at all! Moreover, real silk resists dirt and stains! Dry or hand wash your silk scarf, cushion or bathrobe and don't leave it in the sun. That's it!
Fact: The caterpillars take about a month to get big enough to spin a cocoon. The cocoon spinning process takes 3-5 days.
Fact: The average Thai silk cocoon contains 400-900 meters of silk filament. However, a single filament is too thin for weaving. In Thailand, most silk thread is hand-reeled by women, 4-8 of the silk filaments are reeled together on a wooden spindle to obtain one strand of silk thread.
Fact: It can take up to 12 hours to hand-reel only 0.25 kg of silk thread!
Myth: Silk shrinks after washing. Not entirely true. The silk thread itself does not shrink. However, washing silk fabric that is loosely woven will tighten up the weave, making the product look smaller.

Fact: It takes about 5500 silkworms or 8kg of cocoons to produce 1kg of raw silk!
Fact: 60% of silk fabric produced in Thailand in handwoven.
Myth: Silk is a very delicate fabric. On the contrary, silk has durable and resilient qualities! A single silk fiber has a tensile strength equal to steel wire of the same diameter! By knowing the right way to take care of the fabric, one can keep the silk garments in perfect original condition for many years.
Fact: The width of handwoven silk is limited to the size of the loom and it is usually smaller than that of machine made silk. The width of handwoven silk fabric typically reaches 1 meter or less. A good weaver can weave up to 4meters a day!
Fact: Unlike other silk rather than dying the woven fabric, Thai silk thread is dyed before the weaving. Very often different color thread is used for weft and warp creating rich color quality silk fabric.
Myth: Silk is unpleasant to wear. Silk is exothermic, releasing energy as heat when absorbing moisture. This means that silk clothing will keep you warm even when wet. Silk keeps your skin dry because silk fiber can absorb one third of its own weight in water without feeling damp. Silk is one of the safest fabrics you can have next to your skin. Where synthetics melt, silk burns to harmless ash. It is even more heat resistant than wool! Natural silk contains 12 different amino acids useful for any skin type and age, no wonder that silk is used for beauty products!

Types of Thai silk and their weaving

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According to many sources Thai silk has been around since over 3000 years. During this time, the different regions of Thailand developed different and unique types of silk.

Plain weave silk is the simplest method of weaving; the weft thread passes over and under each ward thread, then under and over 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 silk fabric, the warp one color and the weft another color. This creates tonal variations across the surface of the silk fabric that change according to the direction of light. Tonal quality can be enhanced by plying (twisting) two yarns of different colors or tones together, either in the warp or in the weft, or in both warp and weft.

The key to the rough texture Thai silk fabric is the use of a coarse, irregular silk yarn. Even if such silk cloth has uneven and slightly knotty texture, it is still soft. Smooth texture Thai silk is usually 1-, 2- or 3-ply. Ply simply means the number of threads used for the weft when weaving silk fabric. More ply means more thickness and less smoothness.

“Mud-mee” silk is one of the best kept secrets outside of Thailand. The distinct “mud-mee”, literally tie-dye, silk fabric originates from northeastern part of Thailand, the Isaan region. The fabric is woven using the tying and dyeing technique to create designs. The patterns, colors and styles recall the cultural heritage which has been handed down from the past to the present.

There are three methods to “Mud-mee“ weaving; the first is to tie-dye the warps; the second is to tie-dye the wefts and the third is to tie-dye both the warps and the wefts. Any of these methods must be done before the actual weaving begins. Where to tie-dye is up to the weaver.

Khit is another traditional style of Thai silk weaving from the north-eastern region of Thailand. Khit or continuous supplementary weft is the process of placing a supplementary yarn into the web of tabby weave, passing from selvage to selvage thus enabling the use of a shuttle for the supplementary yarns. The result is a pattern in one color that floats on the surface of the weave. The supplementary yarns are placed into the weave by the assistance of special shafts that raise the warp to a certain pattern allowing the supplementary yarns to be placed alternately with the tabby weave yarns. Prior to the invention of the special shafts, shed sticks were placed in the warp to indicate the pattern for the supplementary yarns, thus restricting the repeat of the design to one repeat of the exact same pattern. The use of the shafts allowed for endless repeats of the exact same pattern.

Well known designs include sandal-wood flowers, jasmine flowers, elephants, horses and monuments. Khit silk 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.

Due to the handmade nature of these silk shawls, the colors, sizes and the patterns will contain variations that is a feature of genuine Thai handmade silk products and which help distinguish handcrafted Thai silk products from imitations.

Brocade silk is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven silk, with or without gold and silver threads and it is yet another type of silk handcraft produced in Thailand. Even though brocade silk was not originated in Thailand, local villages in the north have been able to acquire the technique and enrich it by adding it's own traditions and culture.

Thai silk manufacturing process: from silkworms to silk fabric

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Thai silk, like any other silk in the world is made from the cocoons of silkworms. Silkworms are the caterpillars or larva of the domesticated silk moth (Bombyx mori, family Bombycidae).

The production of Thai silk begins by raising silkworms on a steady diet of white mulberry leaves (Morus alba). This process is known as sericulture. For the first month the silk worms feed on mulberry leaves. Only after the whole month of growing the caterpillars form the cocoon containing the silk.

At this stage the cocoon is taken from the mulberry plant and boiled, to separate the silk thread from the silk worm. Since a single thread of silk from the cocoon is too thin to be used alone, Thai weavers combine more threads to obtain silk thread for handmade weaving. To do this silk weavers hand-reel the threads onto a wooden spindle to produce a uniform strand of raw silk. The process is very labor intensive, as it takes nearly 30 hours to produce a 0.5 kg (around 1 pound) of Thai silk. Did you know that a single cocoon can produce up to 1.5 km (almost 1 mile) of silk thread!

Natural Thai silk can have a variety of colors, ranging from yellow to green. Even though most of the time light golden is characteristic of the region. The next step is to dye the silk thread. In the past, the only dye used was from aniline plants which made the fabrics blue. Today many chemical dyes are used and more colors are possible. silkClick.com offers a wide range of silk products, both chemically and naturally dyed (check out our product section).

One of the most unique characteristics of Thai silk is the color variation depending on the angle you look at silk fabric from. This shimmering appearance is given by the triangular prism-like structure of the silk fiber which allows Thai silk fabric to refract incoming light at different angles thus producing different colors.

Scientists develop technology to produce ultra-strong spider silk

2012-05-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

SEOUL, July 27 (Yonhap) - South Korean scientists said Tuesday that they have developed a technology to artificially create spider dragline silk proteins that can be used to make ultra-strong synthetic fibers and bulletproof vests.

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) team led by biomolecular engineering professor Lee Sang-yup said they have used a new "systems metabolic engineering" process to produce the fiber that has tensile strength superior to that of high-grade steel.

The discovery has been published in the latest on-line issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a U.S. science journal. "Tests conducted on the fiber showed it has the strength of Kevlar, which is widely used to make bulletproof vests and parachutes, and could have wide-ranging applications in the medical sector," the scientists said.

Such materials have the potential to be used to make artificial ligaments, surgical thread or heavy-duty construction supplies like suspension bridge cables.

He said that while many attempts have been made to create synthetic spider silk, all have failed due to the high concentration of the amino acid glycine in the fiber protein, which could not be copied.

The KAIST professor said that because a viable production process has been developed, additional work could create material with superior commercial characteristics.

Lee said that research and preliminary testing took over two years with funding provided by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. (YONHAP)

Commerce Ministry adjusts image of Thai silk to meet changing taste of international market

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BANGKOK, Feb 16– Thailand has launched a project to create a new image for Thai silk in the world market by selecting one hundred pieces of Thailand’s best Mud Mee silk to compile a book with description in a bid to upgrade Thai silk and to expand the export value of Thai silk.

Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot said the project is cooperation between the Department of Intellectual Property and the Queen Sirikit Department of Sericulture. It would add value and create uniqueness of Thai silk to increase demand in both domestic and international markets.

A silk pattern contest will be held, targeting potential students with creativity to join the contest, he added.

According to the ministry, Thailand’s exports of silk and silk products in 2010 were worth nearly Bt683 million (US$22 million). The United States is the world’s largest buyer of silk overall, and is also the major importer of Thai silk.

Thailand’s silk exports to the US last year were Bt207 million ($6.7 million) while silk exports to Japan, Thailand’s second ranked silk importer reached nearly Bt90 million (US$2.9 million), followed by the UK with value of 56.49 million baht (US$1.8 million).

Other potential importers of Thai silk are France, Singapore, Canada, Belgium, Hong Kong and Italy, so expanding the markets for Thai silk and silk products have potential growth with meticulous work and unique shiny fabric of Thai hand-woven silk.

If Thailand can create Thai silk patterns for practical uses, it will increase demand for Thai silk in domestic and international market. (MCOT online news)

The Global Trade in Silk

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These four maps were produced by Mark Graham and are based on data gathered mostly from UNCTAD/WTO (2002), Datta and Nanavaty (2005), and correspondence with Ron Currie, the former Secretary General of the now defunct International Silk Association. It should be noted that these maps are not intended to present an absolute or comprehensive picture of the global silk industry. There are undoubtedly a number of significant omissions in the maps due the unavailability of countrywide data for a number of nations. Furthermore, the symbology and shading of countries is not an attempt to convey any sort of binary information; it is instead simply a strategy to highlight dominant players at a national scale. Arrows indicating flows of silk also do not convey any qualitative or quantitative aspects of those flows. For example, the arrows emanating from Brazil are all of the same width and shading despite the fact that Brazil exports around 75% of its raw silk to Japan. Finally, any arrows starting or ending in Europe are intended to refer to the E.U. as a whole. However, it should be noted that Italy, France, Switzerland, and the U.K. are the dominant European participants in the silk industry.

For further details about the Thai Silk Industry, please follow this link.

For questions or requests for high resolution images please contact Mark Graham.

Exports of Silk

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Exports of Silk (Including Yarns And Woven Fabrics Thereof) From Thailand, 2001

Total Sales to all Countries in USD: $25,029,728

Exports of Silk (Including Yarns And Woven Fabrics Thereof) From Thailand, 2006

Total Sales to all Countries in USD: $26,682,283

Exports of Woven Fabrics Of Silk From Thailand, 2001

Total Sales to all Countries in USD: $13,780,467

Exports of Woven Fabrics Of Silk From Thailand, 2006

Total Sales to all Countries in USD: $14,540,325

Source: Mark Graham. Primary data obtained from Thai DEP.

For further details about the global trade in silk, please follow this link.

Thai silk research, product development

2012-05-30T08:14:00.000-07:00

Silk is Thailand’s most elegant natural fiber, used mainly for textile manufacturing. Due to a decline in prices in worldwide markets for the famed fiber, Mahasarakham University researchers have developed innovative and varied products made from silk in order to help silk farmers to claim additional income from silk production when the market prices of silk have dropped.

Founded to study and develop sericulture, or silk farming, the university's Silk Innovation Center was founded to extend well-being to the rural communities which depend upon income from the worm that are a girl’s best friend. Inside the centre a painting of HRH Princess Sirindhorn, created on a shimmering sheet of handmade yellow silk fiber paper displayed prominently in the facility, shows one result of the applied research to use silk yarn in artwork besides using it to make fabric for fashions and other clothing.

Mahasarakham University’s forward-looking president, Asst Prof Supachai Samappito, notes that “Usually, we raise silkworms in ‘Jor’, as the large, round, flat bamboo trays are called in Thai, and the little creatures spin their cocoons in them. Researchers later discovered that if the silkworms are placed on smooth surfaced materials, such as mirrors, wood, plastic, or paper, then we can get the silkworm’s threads spread in sheetlike form.”

Silk fiber paper production begins with placing silkworms on the wooden board or framed sheet with nylon netting on it. The size of the board depends on the quantity of silkworms available, but usually the concentration is some 300 silkworms per square metre,” says Prof Supachai. After silkworms churn out for about two or three days, and then the silk sheet can be peeled off the board and ready for use as silk paper. The shimmering yellow silk ‘paper’ usually sells for Bt700-1,000 per square metre.

The sparkling texture of silk paper used for painting helps create a three-dimensional quality for pictures, making them look more valuable.

Besides silk paper, the Silk Innovation Center has also produced many products for beauty care applications by protein extraction from cocoons. The protein called sericin can retain skin moisture, slow down wrinkles, and protect skin from ultraviolet (UV) rays.

“Silk has been used in medical applications for many years as the protein from cocoons is structurally similar to that of human beings. Silk protein is easily-absorbed into the skin and can prevent a drop in water levels beneath the outermost skin layer. An added benefit is that Thai silk can provide us more moisture than silk produced in other countries.”

As its special properties, silk protein has been used in many beauty and skin care products such as solid soap, liquid soap, water spray, and moisturising cream. Incomes from selling these products, which are available in Mahasarakham University, will support further studies related to growing mulberry for raising silkworms instead of depending on budgets allocated from the government. The developed technology and knowledge could be passed on to communities to add value to silk farmers’ products.

In addition to beauty products, the centre also produces silk products for health applications; for example, mulberry tea and crispy rice snacks made from silkworms. (MCOT online news)

History of Thai Silk

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One of the crafts that can well express national culture and creativeness is textiles as these have for quite a long time been indispensable. In Thailand, fabric weaving has been practised since prehistoric times and rural society has regarded it as a women's duty during spare time after work in the fields. The development of both colours and designs of the finished products have been a result of the weavers' own imagination and a long heritage as well as some other factors. In the old days fabrics were a kind of status symbol; there were fabrics for the common people to be used either everyday or on special occasions like merit-making, traditional rituals or important festivities, fabrics for the upper class including the king and the royal family and finally those for the Buddhist monks.

Thai fabrics have a great number of designs, usually distinguished by region. Northern women have been considered very skillful weavers, especially of cotton fabrics. They started by weaving for domestic use and then produced for export as well. It is said that during the twentieth and twenty-first century BE the northern part of Thailand which was known as the Laan Na Kingdom produced many good fabrics for sale in neighbouring states, some of which were Pha Si Chan Khao, Pha Si Chan Daeng, Pha Si Dok Champa etc.. During the Sukhothai Period, about 700 years ago, besides the ordinary coloured ones, a five-colour fabric was produced, commonly known as Pha Benjarong. Different groups of people then produced their own fabrics; court people for example would make fabrics for themselves and ordered some fabrics from abroad. As history has it, silk began to be imported from China during that time. Besides clothing, people began to use fabrics for other purposes such as home decoration (long flags) and other household items (pillows, mattresses, curtains). Fabrics during the Ayudhya Kingdom which was about 400 years ago assumed another important role besides materials for clothing and decoration-they were used as money. They were sometimes given by the king instead of money for rewards and often for the annual remuneration, hence the term Pha Wad Raipee (pha = fabric or cloth, wad = pension raipee = annual).

These were generally special types of fabrics, usually embroidered. Trouser-shaped cloths called Pha Jong krabane, loin cloth or Pha khaoma and women's wraps called Sabai began to appear as daily clothing.At the present time, weaving is done mostly in the northern and north-eastern regions. Their products differ due to the influence of regional beliefs as well as the traditions of minority groups. Northerners like to weave both cotton and silk with raised patterns or yok dok (brocade) whereas north-easterners namely the Lao minority groups prefer producing mudmee fabrics using the ikat or resist dying technique. The Lao Song minority is, however, the exception as their preference is that of the northerners. Fabrics produced locally are grouped into three categories according to their weaving methods: Plain cloths, chintz and brocades.