Isaan Silk... Upcountry!

What a surprise! On our recent getaway upcountry (southeast of Chiang Rai) we were taken to a weaving group- "little old ladies who raise silkworms" we were told. As we entered, past a few half-hearted displays of cloth for sale, there was a lady working at a loom; she was weaving 'mutmee'/ikat silk! This is not at all what I expected: I thought that since we were in Tai Lue country these ladies would be Tai Lue. But the patterning on the silk on the loom was clearly not Tai Lue. I asked the lady if she were from Isaan and she grinned and said "Khon Kaen". Then she volunteered that the other ladies were also from Isaan- Udon Thani and elsewhere. I assume they were around 70-80 or so years old- this was their work and their social club, allowing them to keep alive skills they learned decades ago, and to have a reason to get up in the morning. Their modest sign reads "Group Weaving Silk Cloth".

Weaver from Khon Kaen

Her 'mutmee' cloth on the loom. The loops of silk weft are used to adjust the pattern when weaving. They will be clipped later.

This lady is counting and grouping the threads for later tying of the pattern, before dyeing. These are the weft threads; the warps will be of a solid color.

In the foreground is the rack for tying the pattern onto the grouped threads; at least one dip into the dye (green) has been done, showing better the final pattern.

This lady is cutting off the plastic bindings and will then tie on new ones to define areas to be dyed another color. It is very time-consuming work and requires practiced skills.

Below are some tied and dyed threads drying in the sun.

These are one type of basket used for the silkworms. I want some for wall sculpture!

Here a rack holds trays of silk worms in varying stages of growth, including the completed cocoons which will be unwound into raw silk yarns.

Another lady shows off some baby silk worms and their meal of mulberry leaves. The ladies have several mulberry trees growing around the building. Below are more mature worms- big and fat.

Below, friend Nuna shows off the mature cocoons in all their golden glory.The yellow color denotes the type of worm, and reminds me of the cocoons I saw in Cambodia last year- brilliantly golden, they appear to be dyed, but are completely natural.

I was even able to purchase a skein of the gorgeous golden silk for a weaver friend. It was such a treat to find these lovely ladies still practicing their skills and making fine silk cloth using the traditional methods of their origins.
Wonders never cease in the Land of Smiles!

IKTT - The Rest of the Story

After visiting IKTT in Siem Reap, I was invited to join Mr. Morimoto Kikuo the next day at his other site, 'Wisdom of the Forest'. Located 30+km outside of Siem Reap, it is the incubator for the raw materials used in the production of IKTT's textiles. Here, on a large plot of land out in the country, he oversees the care and feeding of the silk worms, complete with an orchard of mulberry trees; there is an indigo plantation; other dyestuffs are grown; cotton is grown and processed; and the banana fibers necessary for tying the threads prior to patterning are prepared. Numerous workers and their families live on site, and there is a guesthouse for visitors; interested parties can stay for days, or weeks to observe and receive firsthand experience in the different stages of the processes. Mr. Morimoto has a home here and I was fortunate that he had time to show me some of his personal textile collection, which included some beautiful antique 'hol', as well as some of the tribal cotton textiles from northeast Cambodia.

Mr. Morimoto Kikuo shows a cache of silk cocoons awaiting processing.

Here they are boiled to dissolve the sticky substance which holds the fibers together,
and allows for the winding of the filament onto a special reel (below)

(Above) Banana tree trunks are cut and then sliced into strips to make the fibers for tying the threads for patterning (below), prior to dyeing. Most ikat-makers now use plastic fibers for this step, but IKTT finds that the banana fiber produces better quality designs.

These ladies are processing 'stick lac' in a mortar so that it can be used to make the dye
for the beautiful red color used on silk in this part of the world. 'Stick lac' is
a resinous deposit made by insects onto tree branches.

On the drive out to IKTT's country site I noticed the use of scarecrow-like figures propped up at the entries of most of the properties along the road. This is something we do not see in Thailand. I subsequently read that they are usually put there after misfortune has struck- illness, accident, whatever- to scare away malevolent spirits believed to have caused the problem. Sadly, they were fairly ubiquitous on our journey.

The journey was not without our own discomforts: recent rains had left the red dirt roads pocked with holes and deep ruts, making the ride very rough. Cambodian 'tuk tuks' are not like Thai 'tuk tuks': they are glorified horse buggies hitched to, and powered by small motorcycles which the driver rides. I couldn't help but compare the journey to those made in pre-auto times with horse-drawn coaches as the mode of conveyance. Thankfully, Mr. Ral, my faithful driver was prepared, as he stopped and whipped out a much-welcome pillow for my back. Needless to say, I was very thankful when it was over and we were back on paved roads.

Ikat at IKTT

Past the old market in Siem Reap, along the curve of the river heading out of town is House 472 on Road To Lake. That's the official address of a world-renowned textile workshop and shop called The Institute for Khmer Traditional Textiles, or IKTT. Begun by Kikuo Morimoto in 1996, IKTT is his vision for recreating the glorious Khmer silk textiles which were one of Cambodia's high art forms in the past. The name is a clever play on the term "ikat" for the tie-before-dyeing patterning technique used to create these works, which in Cambodian is known as "hol". It was not an easy task to find workers knowledgeable in these techniques, since the dark days of the Khmer Rouge had all but eliminated most of them. Now, it is most gratifying to visit the unassuming House 472 and find behind the bamboo shades the ground level filled with the competent ladies who are recreating the fine old patterns in new, naturally-colored silk. The large space is filled with looms, spinning wheels and reels, tying stands, as well as babies sleeping in swinging hammocks at their mothers' sides. Above, the shop and offices occupy the open, high-ceilinged space, and here one can admire and acquire the exquisite finished products being made below.

Textile Travels

October 25 found our textile group gathered for a daytrip to Studio Naenna's eco-weaving workshop south of Chom Thong for a demonstration of weft ikat, as well as other weaving they are doing in silk and cotton. Patricia Cheesman's Studio Naenna is justifiably well known for their wearable art, conservation of traditional textile techniques and patterns, and for Patricia's innovative ikat designs. What I hadn't realized is that they are producing weft ikat textiles, which are not native to this part of Thailand, thanks to the expertise of weavers brought from Isaan over twenty years ago. Her master weaver is Viroy Nanthapoom, who hails from Surin (shown here winding ikat wefts).

We were shown the winding process for the wefts prior to tying,

as well as the tying process.

It is a very complex, elaborate method of patterning fabric, and entails tying dye resists on the yarns before they are woven. The resists determine the pattern, and are re-tied for each color.

Then the yarns are put onto the shuttle and woven as the weft, with alignment carefully achieved by the weaver.

The Thai tubeskirts from Isaan are famous examples of this type of textile, as are the richly colored and patterned silks from Cambodia. Studio Naenna uses this technique to produce beautiful scarves, wall hangings and shawls for their shops, and for special orders.

We later visited Ban Rai Pai Ngam, further down the road.

Home of the Pa Saeng Da Textile Museum, it is one of my favorite textile sites in Thailand, and includes a verdant entry along a lane lined in beautiful bamboo, a fine old teak house with museum above and worker's looms below, outbuildings with facilities for dyeing and winding yarns, and a shop with their lovely products. They use primarily natural colors and produce textiles with warp ikat accents. Patricia explained that originally this technique was used by the local tribal people and not by the Tai people, but Mrs. Saeng-da Bansiddhi adapted the technique for her weaving cooperative's textiles and became famous for it. (Late in her life she was recognized as a Thai National Artist.)

Now it is widely used in the cottons produced in the Chom Thong area. We were treated to demonstrations of the process of making cotton into thread prior to weaving: ginning the seeds and impurities out, then rolling it so that it can be spun; spinning with a wheel; then winding the yarns on a 'niddy noddy'.


After satiating our textile appetite we stopped at Kao Mai Lan Na Resort on the way back for some snacks and libations. Formerly a site comprising acres of tobacco-drying barns, much of it has been converted into a lovely resort with the vine-covered barns renovated as guest rooms.

Their attractive restaurant is just off the main road, at km marker 29, making it an ideal rest stop.