This post was updated September 22, 2021.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Thai silk shopping can be treacherous with over-priced, poor quality silks and outright counterfeits. “Silk sharks” are everywhere, especially at tourist markets. This tutorial will give you a basic knowledge about Thai silk and help you navigate a successful shopping trip for this legendary fabric.
I’ll explain in layman’s terms the different types of silk fabrics; how to recognize counterfeit silk (buyer beware!); the difference between quality and inferior silk; and of course the best places to purchase silk fabric in The Kingdom. My goal is to educate you as a consumer. Knowledge breeds confidence and you need to shop with confidence. Also, knowing some basics about your silk purchase will make you enjoy and appreciate this fabric even more.
Remember: Nothing speaks to old Thai traditions more eloquently than Thai silk. It’s a cultural touchstone of The Kingdom of Thailand.
Most importantly, always keep in mind that with Thai silk, the journey is always as valuable as the destination. Thai silk is a gateway to Old Siam and a culture that’s quickly disappearing.
This article is about woven Thai silk fabrics. I wrote another article entitled “Thai Sericulture: Making Silk” which deals with producing raw silk and yarn making. This tutorial and the one about Thai sericulture are companion pieces to understanding Thai silk.
You may also be interested in reading “Fake Tests for Fake Thai Silk” which I recently posted. It’s even more info about avoiding silk scams.
Thai Silk Basics
Some of the finest silk fabric in the world is handwoven in rural Thailand on old-fashion wooden looms. The main region for silk weaving is northeastern Thailand (referred to as Esaan 1 by Thais) where small villages often produce their own silk and village women weave it into a lustrous fabric. The northern provinces of Chiang Mai and Lamphun also produce fine silk. Lamphun silk is often worn by the Thai royalty.
Thai silk is woven on old wooden looms that have been passed down through generations, from mother to daughter along with their weaving expertise. Some looms can be quite small, while others may stand thirty feet tall and take three women to operate.
These old looms use foot pedals to raise and lower the warp (the vertical threads) so that the weft (horizontal threads) can be manually passed through using a shuttle. Thai weavers have developed many different techniques over the centuries by which these simple looms can produce complex weaves.
Thai Silk: A Woman’s World
Thai silk is woven by women (or young girls). For decades, I have criss-crossed Esaan and the North on my “silk safaris” meeting countless village weavers and they have always been women. I’ve never seen a man sitting at a loom weaving.
But not only is weaving done by women, the entire “cycle” of Thai silk is generally accomplished by women. Thai women care for the silkworms that will produce the silk cocoons. They then boil and reel the silk filament from the cocoons to make silk thread. They dye the silk and create/choose the fabric patterns. Women often own the small village shops and cooperatives that sell the silk.
The silk weaving traditions are passed down from mother to daughter, not father to son.
A History 3,500 Years Old
Silk in Thailand, goes back 3,500 years to an excavated Stone Age village called Baan Chiang near the northern city of Udon Thani not far from the Laotian border. This is the oldest known settlement in Indochina. Among the ruins, archeologists found a single strand of silk entangled on a roller that may have been used to print designs on fabric. 2 They also unearthed pottery with painted motifs that resemble silk worms and cocoons. 3 (Remember China first developed silk almost 5,000 years ago.)
No one knows how silk thread came to Baan Chiang. Did silk traders from China bring it? Or did Baan Chiang inhabitants engage in sericulture and made the silk thread themselves? No one is certain.
Merchants brought Chinese silk westward on the ancient Silk Roads as far back as the 3rd Millenium B.C. The Silk Road between India and China went directly through the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia including Thailand. It shouldn’t surprise us that silk was found in Ban Chiang circa 1,500 B.C. as it lay within the network of ancient Silk Roads.
In the 13th Century, Sukothai, the first capital of Siam, imported silks from China and India. China and India produced a better quality silk and weave which was in demand by Sukothai royals and elites. Siamese weavers worked diligently to improve the quality of their silk fabric to compete with China and India.
Thai silk didn’t attain its legendary status until the mid-19th Century. Finally Siamese weavers had mastered the skill and art of silk weaving and began producing silks with quality enough to rival China, India and the Middle East.
For a full Historical perspective of Thai silk and fabrics, please read my blog entry: Thai Traditional Fabrics: 3,000 years in 15 Minutes.
How Thai Silk Is Created.
Below is a simple, yet comprehensive overview as to how both traditional Thai silk and Thai silk yarn (thread) are produced. This video was produced by The Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles. Watching this video will give you a great overview of Thai silk and you’ll better understand this tutorial.
Thai Sericulture: A Quickie Overview
Raw Thai silk is still made the old fashioned way in Thailand. Silk worm larvae take their holy communion of specially cultivated mulberry leaves. (Mulberry is the only food they’ll eat.) The silk worm then spins its cocoon by secreting a single strand of silk filament, sometimes as long as 1,500 feet.
Before the silk worm can leave it’s cocoon and metamorphose into a moth, the pods are collected and heated, killing the silk worm inside. In sericulture (the production of silk) the silkworm must be killed before leaving its cocoon to preserve the unbroken length of the cocoon’s single silk filament.
Heating the cocoon in hot water softens the gummy substance which binds together the cocoon. After heating, the cocoon’s single silk filament begins to unwind and by a process called “reeling” can be gathered for the beginning of the yarn making process.
Making silk yarn that is fit for weaving is quite complicated, involving many steps. I detail this process in “Thai Sericulture: Making Silk“.
No doubt a visitor from another planet would find us humans a strange bunch indeed hearing that we covet a fabric made from the secretions of a worm.
Types of Silk Fabric
When buying Thai silk, you’ll generally encounter four types: brocaded, dupioni, mudmee and plain weave. Yes, there are more types of weave, and of course every village produces their own unique silk, but almost all Thai silks will fall into these four categories. (This is a simplification of types of Thai silk, but for the novice silk buyer, it’s an easy and effective way to classify silk.)
Brocaded Thai Silk
Brocaded Thai silk is a weave that gives the fabric an embossed or raised quality. The fabric is not at all smooth, but is raised in a manner that creates a pattern in and of itself.
Weaving brocaded silk requires the most expertise and patience of all the various silk weaves. The weft (horizontal thread) is woven on top of two or more warp (the vertical threads on a loom) to create the pattern. A “sarong bolt” (1 1/2 meters) of quality brocaded Thai silk may take a weaver up to a month to produce.
Brocaded silks are often found in Northern Thailand, especially Lamphun, and they’re known for their delicate, pastel colors. Brocaded silks are often used in making the finest Thai silk couture and can command very high prices. It’s not unusual for the finest brocaded Thai silk to cost $1,000 or more for a 2-4 meter bolt. You can find very good quality bolts for $150-$200 (U.S.), especially if shopping in a silk weaving village.
I wrote a blog article with lots of photos about brocaded silk entitled “A Silk Safari to Ban Ta-Sa-Wang“. In that post, I go into great detail about how brocading is done by hand on a loom.
Dupioni Silk
Thai Dupioni silk is one of the most common types of silk fabric in The Kingdom. It can be either solid color or patterned and its prices are quite reasonable.
Dupioni silk intentionally has many fabric knots, bumps, and “fatties” which give the fabric great character. These fabric inconsistencies are called slubs and are crucial to recognizing authentic Thai silk from its counterfeits. (I will explain slubbing and its relevance a little later.) The Chinese refer to dupioni silk as shantung silk.
Classic dupioni silk is woven from silk yarns made from the dupion silk cocoon. A dupion silk cocoon is where two silkworms often joined together inhabit a single cocoon. For complex reasons, dupion cocoons produce a very rough silk filament and so yarns made with dupion are rough and uneven.
Weaving with this “rough” silk yarn will yield a wonderfully textured fabric we call dupioni.
Native Thai silk is made from yellow silk cocoons which have a rougher surface texture than white silk cocoons which are often imported from Japan or China. Therefore, yellow Thai silk cocoons are especially good at producing thread for dupioni fabric.
Practical Advice: Solid color Dupioni silk is generally sold by the meter, not the bolt. In the weaving villages of Esaan, I have found good quality dupioni for between $12-20/meter. (But beware of very cheap dupioni as it may not be 100% silk or woven with a low grade, spun silk yarn (called noi silk).
Mudmee Silk
Mudmee silk (also known as ikat weaving) is the oldest form of pattern weaving in The Kingdom. It’s easy to recognize even though the patterns and colors are infinite.
In mudmee weaving, the fabric’s pattern is tie-dyed onto a single silk thread (usually the horizontal weft yarn) much like human DNA is encoded with our genetics. As the fabric is woven, the tie-dyed (2-5 different colors) weft yarn will reveal the pattern as the weaver brings the weft back and forth across the warp .
Mudmee silk is usually woven in Isaan, although weavers in the north occasionally produce it. Many silk enthusiasts covet mudmee more than any other Thai silk. The complexity of the patterns can be astounding and the weaver’s skill must be very high.
Practical Advice: Prices for mudmee silk can vary tremendously, depending on quality. You can find good quality mudmee for $100/1.5 meter bolt (sarong length). But a bolt of 5-color mudmee made with the finest reeled silk yarns and natural dyes can cost upwards of $500 in Esaan. (In Bangkok you’ll pay more.)
I wrote an entire blog article entitled “Thai Fabrics: Mudmee” that goes into great detail about this legendary fabric.
Plain Weave Thai Silk
Plain weave Thai silk is a smooth (not soft!) textured fabric, unlike brocaded silk. Thai silk tip: If the solid color Thai silk has a rough texture with bumps and nits, it’s dupioni Thai silk with a plain weave.
A “plain weave” is the most simple weave. The weft simply goes up over a warp thread and down under the next. Simple. Quality plain weave fabric is determined by the quality of the silk yarns used, the expertise of the weaver to produce a nearly flawless fabric, and a thread count that produces the proper drape.
Shimmering, an attribute for which Thai silk is famous, is usually easily seen in plain weaves. Undulate the fabric slowly and you’ll see it changing colors. This effect is done by using different colored silk yarns for the vertical (the warp) and horizontal (the weft) and is called “shot” fabric.
Plains weaves are the most economical of all Thai silk fabric because of the simplicity of its weave. An experienced weaver can produce on a hand loom approximately 12-15 meters a day. (Some complicated brocades are handwoven at a rate of about 3-4 centimeters a day!)
Practical Advice: A good quality plain weave will cost between $12-$18/yard in the silk weaving areas around Kon Gan or Surin. (Keep in mind that plain weave costs are determined by the quality of the silk yarns used.) Plain weaves make great apparel which is why many dressmakers keep a good selection on hand for their customers.
Guidelines for Buying Thai Silk
The Golden Rule
1. The golden rule for buying silk is to know your seller! Buy only from established fabric shops that specialize in Thai silk.
This is the important rule for buying Thai silk! Of course you can’t know a silk vendor personally as a tourist; but you can fairly easily acquaint yourself with their business and look for commonsense signs of trustworthiness. (You do this everyday in life.)
I’ll discuss silk shops in more detail shortly and point out the signs of trustworthiness, but first I wanted to stress the most fundamental rule in silk buying: Always know about your seller before you buy. (Example: Do they have a brick & mortar shop filled with rack after rack of quality silk; or, are they just somebody with a few bolts spread on a plastic tarp at a tourist market?)
Never take a gamble with Thai silk. After almost two decades of buying Thai silk, I still never violate this golden rule.
Tourist Markets-NO!
2. Stay Away From Tourist Markets!
Where NOT to buy Thai silk is the most important information I can give you, so I want to address this issue up front.
Authentic, quality Thai silk is not sold at street markets, night bizaars, “walking streets” or other tourist oriented places. There are vendors at these tourist markets who may try to sell you Thai silk, but rest assured, their silk is either counterfeit or at best a very low grade silk.
When you shop for Thai silk at a tourist market, you’re violating the golden rule of knowing your seller. More than that, simply by showing an interest in buying, you’re quickly identifying yourself to a silk shark as someone who doesn’t know anything about Thai silk.
Thai Silk “Bargains”
3. There are no bargains in the Thai silk trade, only fair deals.
If you think you can find quality Thai silk at bargain basement prices, you’re fooling yourself. (I’m being polite.) You’ll be easy prey for even a rookie silk shark.
Be aware that a silk shark offering you a “Thai silk” sarong at a tourist market for $25 (about 750 baht) is per se fake Thai silk. The cost of quality silk threads alone would cost the weaver more than 750 baht.
The woman who wove the fabric certainly knows the market value of her product. The fabric store owner certainly knows the market rates for the product he’s been buying/selling for years. The village silk weaving cooperative certainly knows the value of their silk. So why would they sell their Thai silk at a tourist market at 1/10th the price that they could sell it elsewhere?
If you pay “polyester” prices for Thai silk, you’re going to get polyester. Simple enough.
Again, there are no bargains in the Thai silk trade. You get what you pay for! Stay away from tourist markets.
Legitimate Silk Sellers Don’t Bargain Prices
Generally, Thai silk is not bargained for. (That’s because it isn’t sold at a tourist market.) At most, the owner of a shop may give you a slight discount if you’re purchasing a significant amount.
If you find yourself with a silk seller that suddenly drops the price of a bolt after trying to get you to buy it at a higher price-run for the door. You’re about to be ripped off. How could you ever trust a seller who initially tried to sell you a bolt for let’s say $100, but now will take $60 for it. This seller is admitting to you that he was trying to rip you off. Run.
Bargaining is not how legitimate Thai silk sellers do business.
Where to Buy Thai Silk
Thai Silk Shops
The best place to purchase authentic Thai silk is at fabric shops that specialize in the fabric. The only other place I’d buy Thai silk is at silk fairs that are usually organized by the local provincial government to showcase the provinces best silk weavers.
I would never buy silk fabric from a store that also sells tourist trinkets or non-fabric items. Stay with dedicated silk fabric vendors. Their stores should have a plentiful selection of Thai silk bolts and/or apparel.
But how do I know if a silk shop is legitimate? How do I follow the Golden Rule of knowing the source?
Here are some questions you can answer when going to a silk store whether in Bangkok or in rural Thailand: Is the business a dedicated fabric or silk shop? Does it have a large inventory of Thai silk (at a minimum dozens and dozens of bolts)? Are you in Bangkok or a silk weaving region? Is the silk inventory clean and well presented? Are the prices too good to be true? (If so leave.)
Is the owner present? If so, ask the owner these types of questions: How long have you been in business? Where do you get your silk? Is the silk handwoven? Is it 100% silk? Are the dyes colorfast? We’re your questions answered directly? Enthusiastically?
Shop owners love to talk silk and if they speak English will welcome your questions.
Just by the above questions, you will have a good measure of the the silk shop. You are following the Golden Rule of knowing your source. And after reading the rest of this tutorial, you’ll have a solid, basic knowledge of Thai silk.
Practical Advice: In Bangkok I highly recommend “The Silk Zone” located on the 2nd Floor of the Old Siam Plaza: 203-4 Treepetch Rd., Pranakorn, Bangkok. The “Silk Zone” will have dozens of independent silk vendors and their prices are reasonable. I’ve been there and have closely inspected their stock and spoken at length to the owners.
Please read my post: “Find and Buy Thai Silk In Bangkok“.
You will find dedicated silk shops throughout Thailand in the silk weaving provinces. Kon Gan, Chonobot, Surin and its surrounding villages, Lamphun, and Ubon Rachasima, and Kalasin are all cities and towns that are well populated with shops that will sell authentic, quality Thai silk at market rates.
Please see my posts: “A Compendium of Thai Silk Shops on Instagram” and “Volume II: A Compendium of Silk Shops on Instagram”.
Buying from a Village Weaving Cooperative
The majority of silk I buy is from small village cooperatives where the silk is actually woven. In these rural villages, the weavers have pooled their fabrics for sale in a village silk shop and usually sell by consignment. These rural, village silk shops differ from their bigger city counterparts in that the silk fabrics for sale will all be produced in their village.
Dressmaker and Tailor Shops
Often the easiest way to find authentic Thai silk is at a dressmaker’s shop in the big cities like Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Korat. These shops often carry an inventory of very good quality Thai silk especially plain weaves.
Skilled Thai dressmakers (or tailors) will make for you a variety of Thai silk apparel including professional business suits, evening jackets, skirts, and depending on the proper drape, an array of dresses and blouses.
Dressmakers can also provide valuable consultation for your silk shopping. Discuss purchasing Thai silk for an outfit and she’ll be happy to tell you places to go and how much you’ll need. (about 4 yards for professional suit jacket and matching skirt.)
Most dressmakers are more than happy if you bring them the fabric to make your outfit. Any decent dressmaker anywhere in Thailand will know the best local fabric shops to shop and purchase Thai silk.
A Silk Safari to Esaan
Esaan is northeastern Thailand and is legendary for its Thai silk, especially mudmee.
If you have the time and a sense of adventure, then going on a silk safari to Esaan is the best way to purchase Thai silk. It’s also the best way to experience Thai culture away from the madding crowds of tourists. Remember with Thai silk the journey is as rewarding as the destination.
Esaan is silk country and home to sticky rice, Isaan sausage, Thai roast chicken, fermented red ant eggs (a delicacy) and of course somtom, the spicy green papaya salad that Thais can’t get enough of. This is the land of the Angor Wat style ruins of Pi Mai and Phanon Rung. It is also the poorest region of Thailand and least visited.
Please read my post: “A Vagabond to Esaan“.
Best Places to Buy Silk in Esaan
Chonobot. This is my number one recommendation because of the quality of silk, especially mudmee silk, available and the ease of finding it. The town is located about 25 kilometers south of Kon Gan. On the Main Street of this small town are lots of silk shops. You can simply park your car and started walking from shop to shop.
Surin. This would be my second choice for a silk safari. This town is located about an 8 hour drive from Bangkok. You will find a central silk market in town and fabric shops. Eight kilometers from Surin lies Ban Tha Sawang. (Read my post: A Silk Safari to Ban Tha Sawang in Surin Province) Go there! You’ll see some of the finest silk in The Kingdom being woven and a huge selection of fabrics to choose from. Ban Sawai, Ban Chan Rom, Ban Sinarin are all silk weaving villages near Surin.
Ban Phon. This is a village in Kalasin Province where the famous Praewa silk is woven. This village is close enough to Chonobot so that you could visit both places in a single day. Paris fashion designer Pierre Balmain chose Praewa silk to design many outfits for Queen Sirikit. (I wrote an entire post about this legendary silk: Praewa: The Queen of Thai Silks.
Korat aka Nakorn Rachasima. I haven’t bought silk from Korat in years, but it has many excellent silk fabric shops. Korat is the second largest city in Thailand and about a 6 hour drive from Bangkok. Pack Thong Chai is a very famous silk weaving village that is only 31 kilometers from Korat.
The Korat area will always have a special place in Thai silk history because it was in this district that the legendary Jim Thompson, the original Thai silk entrepreneur, built his sericulture and weaving operations and breathed life into a dying art. (For more info about Jim Thompson see my post: Jim Thompson.
The above list of places to buy silk in Isaan is nowhere near exclusive. I’ve merely touched on a few of the “biggies”. Villages near Ubon Rachatani and Ubon Thani produce fine silks. If you go north and cross into Laos (really just an extension of Thailand that the French grabbed in their colonial days.) you’ll find exquisite silk being produced in Vien Tien and Luang Prabang.
If your only reason for going on a silk safari to Isaan is to get a better price, then you’re better off canceling your trip. By the time you factor in hotels and transportation costs, you’ll quickly realize that you saved precious little. But if you want to get off the well-beaten tourist trail and seek a little adventure, then by all means contemplate a silk safari to Isaan.
Recognizing Authentic Thai Silk
There is no substitute for experience. Educating yourself to some of the most basic aspects of Thai silk will help you immensely not only in avoiding frauds, but also in recognizing quality. There is no single attribute or characteristic that will easily determine if a bolt of fabric is authentic Thai silk. It’s really a combination of all the characteristics below and your common sense.
The Price Test: There are no cut-rate bargains for Thai silk as explained earlier, especially for good quality Thai silk. If you paid $20 (or some other ridiculously low amount) for a bolt of “Thai brocaded silk” you flunked the price test. If I told you I bought a Rolex at a Bangkok street market for $100, would you believe the watch to be authentic? The price test is really nothing more than using basic common sense.
Practical Advice: Here’s an extremely generalized price outline for handwoven, quality Thai silk. But please remember prices can vary tremendously because of levels of quality and the type of silk yarns used (All prices in US dollars): Small simple scarves $15-$30. Large Scarves $30-$100. Mudmee Sarong Bolt (1.6 meters) $75-$800. Brocaded Dressmakers Bolt (4 meters) $200-$1,500. Small Praewa scarf $50. Praewa sarong bolt $150-$1,000. Solid color dupioni is sold by the yard $15-$40/yard.
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The Feel (Thai Silk’s Handle or Hand): Thai silk is often a slightly scratchy, somewhat stiff, sturdy fabric. Generally it is not soft and lightweight (but there are always exceptions depending on how the silk was finished or washed.)
Here’s a brief video that will help you understand the handle and drape of authentic Thai silk.
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Thai silk will soften with washing, but new Thai silk should feel like the rough-tough fabric it is. I have run my fingers over myriad pieces of Thai silk over the years, and I can tell within seconds if the fabric is authentic.
You can quickly develop a feel for authentic Thai silk also. Go to legitimate silk shops and touch as many bolts as you can. There is a consistency to the feel of Thai silk. If in Bangkok, I highly recommend visiting the The Queen Sirikit Museum of Thai Textiles. (I wrote an entire post about it here.) Go to the museum shop and run your fingers over the many bolts of mudmee silk they sell.
The Weave: Thai silk is handwoven. Therefore, imperfections will exist in the weave. Only mechanical looms can crank out a flawless weave. Even The Kingdom’s best weavers can’t produce a flawless weave for a variety of reasons. (Usually due to inherent slubbing of the Thai silk yarns.)
Study the fabric very closely. Hold it up to your eye or bend over for a closer look. Try to find small imperfections in the weave or pattern. When you spot a small imperfection, that’s a good thing. It means you’re looking at handwoven silk.
How to Spot Counterfeit Fabrics
Buying fake Thai silk should always be a concern of a buyer, whether experienced or novice. Buying from a reputable source and not from a tourist market should keep you safe. But here’s some basics about the differences between authentic handwoven Thai silk and machine-made fabrics.
Fabric Slubs, Nits & Bulges
Slubs can differentiate authentic Thai silk from a counterfeit. Machines produce flawless fabric, while handwoven fabrics often have small “defects” in the weave. Slubbing (when it’s not dupioni fabric) is such a defect.
Slubbing occurs with fabric that has been handwoven from a silk yarn that’s made with rough, uneven silk filament. The plying (intertwining) of two or more silk threads into a silk yarn increases the slubbing. Thai silk is such a fabric and is often made from multi-plied silk yarns.
As a weaver creates her fabric, she almost always looms with inconsistent yarns that produce the slub. A slub looks like a knot of thread and they can be large or very small. Or it can appear as a bulging of thread across a weave-line of the fabric.
Slubbing can give the handwoven fabric great character. I have many times chosen a heavily slubbed bolt over another because I preferred the character of the slubbing. And remember, dupioni Thai silk is deliberately slubbed which gives it its famous texture.
The Edges (The Selvedge)
Handwoven fabrics have rough, uneven edges. (the textile term for a fabric’s edge is the selvedge.) Mechanical looms produce fabric edges that are smooth and clean. Handwoven selvedge is always uneven because the weft thread is manually looped back to create the edge. Always look to the edges of the fabric and make sure they’re rough and uneven. Also, near the edges of handwoven fabrics is an area that it’s often the easiest to see slubbing.
A few words about the width of a bolt of Thai silk: Almost all Thai Silk will come in a bolt that was woven approximately 34-40 inches in diameter. It very rarely will exceed that dimension because very few wooden looms can weave greater width. Of course if you’re buying scarves or shawls, the weaver obviously used a much narrower fabric format.
The Shimmer: “Shot” Silk Fabric
A famous attribute of Thai silk is that it shimmers when you hold it up to a light and undulate the fabric. The reason is simple. In weaving Thai silk, a different colored silk yarn is often used for the horizontal and vertical yarns. (AKA-the weft and warp yarns) This is what produces the shimmering effect and the fabric is called shot silk fabric.
Many Thai silk fabrics will shimmer; but many won’t as the weaver chose to use the same color weft and warp yarns. A general rule is that solid color Thai silk should shimmer, but patterned Thai silk may not. Mudmee Thai silk (more on this type of silk later) often does not shimmer.
Beware: The easiest trick in fabric counterfeits is to make the fabric shimmer. It’s quite simple to have a mechanical loom weave with a different color yarn for the weft/warp. It’s an old tourist market trick to tell a gullible customer a fabric must be Thai silk because it shimmers and then undulate the fabric in front of the tourist’s face.
The Totality of Indicia: Other than the golden rule of knowing your seller, no single indicia is proof positive you are buying authentic, handwoven Thai silk. It’s a combination of all the above indicia that’s important.
Quality
What makes one bolt of Thai silk better than another bolt, other than the sheer preference of the buyer? In other words, how is quality of Thai silk fabric determined?
The Quality of the Weave
The quality of the weave is the most important attribute. Obviously, handwoven fabrics are only as good as the weaver that produced them. There are expert weavers, journey-woman weavers, novice weavers and just plain bad weavers.
Study carefully the actual weave. Is it tight? How common are the flaws? How obvious are the flaws? Is the slubbing a good thing as with dupioni silk or a bad thing as with brocaded silk? Is the pattern complex and precisely duplicated across the bolt? What about the dying or color of the fabric? Is the color(s) consistent across the bolt?
These are all quality issues. In other words, a quality piece of Thai silk will have a tight weave with very few flaws. Any slubbing will increase the character of the bolt, not decrease it. Any pattern, whether brocaded, woven or mudmee, will be consistent both in design and replication. The bolt will have consistent color.
The Type of Weave
The basic weaves of brocaded, dupioni and mudmee and of course plain weave are not equal in terms of the expertise needed to produce the fabric.
Fine brocaded Thai silk will always be considered “better” quality than a dupioni weave, just based on the expertise required. Weaving a brocade is more complicated than weaving most dupioni.
Mudmee weaving can be extremely complex and so fine mudmee silk is given an exalted quality status by Thai silk connesuirs, myself included. The more colors in the mudmee pattern means a more complicated weave that demands more precision. The “tightness” or resolution and complexity of the mudmee pattern is crucial to a quality determination.
The Quality of the Silk Yarn
Silk yarns are not equal in quality. The best yarns are made from reeled silk, and the worst are made with spun silk. Reeled silk is made from long, unbroken filaments of silk which not only have the highest luster, but are also the strongest. Spun silk is made from the remnants of reeled silk or defective silk cocoons. The shortness of the filaments makes for a dull silk yarn.
The different grades and types/purposes of silk yarns is a complex subject which I explain in detail in “Thai Sericulture: Making Silk“.
So quality simply presents itself as the following question: How complicated was the weave; how well accomplished was that weave; and what is the quality of the silk yarns used by the weaver?
Dressmakers and Your Thai Silk
Often the purpose of buying a bolt of Thai silk is so you can take the fabric to a dressmaker in Thailand (or in your home country) to have custom apparel made.
Most of the Thai silk I buy is for making Thai pillows. I bring it to the pillow makers in Yasoton Province and we decide what will be made from the bolt. That’s as much fun as buying the silk.
In other words, the purchase of your Thai silk was actually the first step toward having something special made . When you enter a fabric store, you should already have a good idea as to what the end use of the fabric will be. Business suit, sarong, evening attire, etc.
If curtains are your end game, make sure you take window measurements before leaving for Thailand. There are many seamstress shops throughout Thailand that specialize in custom curtains. Our home has Thai silk curtains in almost every room. Make sure to have your seamstress line your Thai silk curtains for protection from the sun.
For apparel making, a dressmaker usually needs at least a week to make your outfit which includes at least one if not two fittings.
The Dressmakers Bolt
Buying Thai silk fabric really is like going back to an earlier era. Thai silk is still commonly woven in what’s called dressmaker’s bolts.
A dressmaker’s bolt is a single bolt about 4 yards long (no coincidence that this is the exact yardage you need for a single woman’s suit or dress), with half the bolt being the pattern and the other half is the solid color that perfectly matches the pattern’s color.
This is exactly what your dressmaker needs to make you that stunning professional woman’s suit. You and your dressmaker will decide how to use the solid color and the pattern to your liking.
So if you’re ultimate goal is to make a coordinated jacket and skirt from your Thai silk, I highly recommend that when shopping in fabric stores to give special attention to their dressmaker bolts. They’re made exclusively for your purpose.
Thai silk bolts are also commonly sold in “sarong bolts” which are approximately 1.5 meters in length-just the length needed to make a custom sarong with or without pleats.
Pre-Made Thai Silk Apparel
You can buy pre-made apparel of Thai silk and you’ll see it available at many fabric stores and upscale botiques, especially in Bangkok. You can purchase beautiful Thai silk purses and handbags from these same boutiques and upscale department stores. And of course you’ll find a large selection of silk scarves, ties, etc. sold at many venues.
If this is your goal, you have little need to purchase the actual Thai silk fabric. But, the information you learned in this tutorial will hold you in excellent stead while silk shopping for finished apparel. If this is you, then again, know your source. Shop only at established silk botiques where you can trust the business. Don’t shop the tourist markets.
Natural & Commercial Dyes
Commercial dyes are commonly used for Thai silk. Commercial dyes make for a colorfast fabric that can be washed repeatedly and won’t bleed. If you plan to use your Thai silk for apparel, handbags or curtains, then you must make sure commercial dyes were used and not natural dyes.
Natural dyes (plant dyes) are not colorfast and cannot be washed at all without severely degrading the color. Also, if you wear or sit on a natural dyed fabric, the dye will rub off on you.
I was once given a beautiful bolt of green shimmering, irredescent Thai silk that used natural dyes. I mistakenly washed it and when the fabric came out of the washing machine it was ruined, with almost all it’s natural dyes gone. I have sold naturally dyed mudmee silk pillows that customers complain bleed onto their clothing.
Naturally dyed Thai silk is much sought after by collectors who will purchase a specific bolt to add to their collection. The fabric will not be worn or washed.
Silk that is naturally dyed is much more expensive that commercially dyed silk. It takes a lot more skill and labor to dye fabric with natural plants than with commercial dyes. Prices can easily double or triple for naturally dyed Thai silk.
All Good Things Must End
If you made it through this tutorial, I officially declare you an educated Thai silk buyer. May your future silk safaris be successful and you journey as rewarding as your destination.
Questions and comments welcome. Just contact me via this blog.
If you’re interested in Thai fabrics or Thai hand-weaving, please see the many other blog entries I’ve written.
The Thai Fabric Chronicles
- An Intro to Thai Fabrics
- Thai Fabrics Part 2: Handwoven Textiles
- Praewa Silk: The Queen of Thai Silks
- Thai Fabrics Part 4: Hill Tribe Wares
- Thai Fabrics Part 5: Mudmee
- A Fabric Safari to Mae Chaem
- Jim Thompson (The Original Thai Silk King)
- A Silk Safari to Ban Ta-Sa-Wang
- A Cotton Safari to Pasang
- Thai Sericulture: Making Silk
- Thai Pillows: An Information Resource.
- Pratunam Market
- Queen Sirikit & Thai Textiles: A Historical View
- Fake Tests for Fake Silk
- The Chiang Mai Fabric District
- Thai Fisherman Pants: An Owner’s Manual
Footnotes
- Esaan roughly refers to an area from Buriram and Surin northward to Udon Thani on the Laos border and eastward to the Cambodian border. It is the poorest region of Thailand.
- William J. Foley and Burma H. Hyde “The Significance of Clay Rollers of the Ban Chiang Culture, Thailand”, Asian Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 2, University of Hawaii Press (Dec. 1980)
- Susan Conway, Thai Textiles, Page 16, The British Museum Press (1992)
Not sure if the image attached, but I’m referring the the one with this caption below it:
“This is 100% Thai silk fabric that appears to shimmer without undulating it. This effect is accomplished by using a silk yarn composed of 4 individual threads (4-Ply) that are each dyed a different color and twisted together.”
Hi Jeff,
I’m a fashion designer and have worked with Thai silk in all my collections. I usually source the fabric when I’m in the country, but I’m currently based in London and due to Covid it’s unlikely I’ll be able to travel to Thailand for a while, which presents some difficulties when sourcing fabric. I usually look for this particular type of silk, but I don’t know the actual name for it, so it’s hard to tell anyone on the ground who can help me source it. I’ve attached a screenshot from your blog post and I’m hoping you can give me some more technical terms for this particular weave, in English and in Thai if possible!
Many thanks,
Azura
Hello Azura,
I contacted a silk shop in Thailand @silk_myway about this type of Thai silk. It’s called Pha-Hang-Kra-Rok (ผ้าหางกระรอก) which means squirrel tail in Thai. It’s 2-4 threads of different colors twisted together to make a single thread.
-Jeff
Thank you so much!
Wow that was strange. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say wonderful blog!
Well I’m sorry I didn’t receive your comment. I wish I had.
Hi Jeff,
Thank you so much for you quick and detailed reply.
I much appreciate your sharing of suppliers and places to explore.
Your recommendations will keep me busy for some time by the looks of it.
With my thanks and best wishes,
Karl
I have a piece of silk that is probably about 50 years old. It still has the tag on it. I am wondering if you can tell me anything about it. This is what the tag says:
100% Pure Thai Silks
Hand Woven in Siam
479.040.409 PP1593
Manufactured By
Bombay Bazar
Width 36″ : 4 yds
I know my uncle bought it when he was in the military stationed in the area. He bought it for my mom who was a seamstress. She never did anything with it. She has now passed away and I have it.
Thank you for any information.
Terri
Hi Terri,
Thanks for writing. Can you take a photo of the silk and put it online (Instagram, FB, Twitter, Flikr, etc.) and send me a link so I can see it? A picture says a thousand words. The tag doesn’t really give me too much info, although the dimensions of 1 yard x 4 yards is a very common size for handwoven Thai silk. Was your uncle stationed in Udon Thani? Big U.S. airbase there. If so, that’s a prime Thai silk region. Hope to see a photo.
-Jeff
Thank you Jeff. Here is the link to FB. I posted a picture there. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10221708114845826&id=1643899278. Let me know if you can’t get it.
Yes, I got your photo.
From the photo, this fabric does not appear to be Thai silk. (It may be silk, just not Thai silk.) The pattern is not Thai, and there are no mudmee patterns that are even close to it. The pattern is similar to Indian patterns and the tag states “Manufactured by Bombay Bazar”. Tags on Thai silk are rather rare, but when they do exist, they usually have the weavers name, the village and often the amount of time it took to weave the fabric.
Put this tutorial to work for you: Inspect the edges (selvages). Handwoven fabrics have rough, uneven edges. If the selvages are smooth and straight, the fabric is not handwoven. What about slubbing (small nits/bumps in the fabric caused by hand-spun silk yarns), especially near the edges? Can you see slubbing anywhere on the fabric? No slubs is an indicator of machine woven fabric-therefore not Thai silk. Undulate the fabric-does it shimmer? Thai silk will usually shimmer, although this is the most unreliable attribute for determining authenticity.
The fabric’s colors are very striking and the pattern very interesting. But without feeling the fabric I can’t be certain of its origins. I just don’t believe it’s Thai silk. I hope you’re not too disappointed. Thanks for contacting me.
-Jeff
Hi Jeff,
Thank you for your detailed reporting on Thail silk, it’s clearly a labor of love for you and your partner.
Until recently I’ve been buying raw unbleached Thai silk (pluak mai) regularly from reputable sellers in Chiang Mai but now supplies have dried up.
Nobody seems to know whay or where else to source them.
Are you able to point me to potential makers/suppliers by any chance?
Your kind assistance is much appreciated. Thank you.
Hello Karl,
Thanks for writing. Great question. The above photo shows unbleached, raw Thai silk from Chonobot. Is that what you’re trying to source? If so, let me try to help.
You may want to call two commercial Thai silk reeling companies: Chul Thai Silk Co. and Khon Kaen Silk Reeling Co. I don’t know whether these companies sell their unbleached raw silk, but it’s worth a conversation with them. (I provided links to both) I commonly see unbleached raw silk in the silk weaving villages of Esaan, such as Chonobot, Baan Ta-Sa-Wan or Baan Phon (Praewa silk). The silk weaving villages in Esaan produce much of the silk they weave. Would they sell you some? I don’t know. It probably depends on how much you want to buy. I would image they would agree to sell you a small amount.
I’d go to Chonobot if I were trying to source unbleached silk thread. Go into the many silk shops and start asking about it. All the silk shops are connected to weaving groups that will have it. Often the Chonobot silk shops will have large amounts of raw silk in back of their store. And you may also want to peruse my Compendium(s) of Silk Shops on Instagram for more potential sources. Good luck. Let me know how it goes.
-Jeff
Very Informative piece, thank you. But for people who cannot travel all the way down to Thailand? Is there no online shop, website, to buy these materials from or a dress maker who can be reliable enough to make dresses out of these genuine material and sell . An online webpage to interact with basically.
Sa-wad-dee E. Jimmy,
Great question and the answer is YES! Please go to my following blog posts: Buying Thai Silk in Bangkok and A Compendium of Thai Silk Shops on Instagram. Most of the silk shops I list have mail order available. A few have websites which I list, but most will use Instagram to show and sell their fabrics. I have also listed some Thai silk dressmakers also.
Your biggest problem will be language (I assume you don’t speak or read Thai). Most of the shops will have someone who speaks English. They also have established paygates on Instagram so you should be able to purchase with relative security. Don’t hesitate to call them by phone. (All of them use Line and I list those numbers.) I’m currently working on another Thai Silk Compendium on IG, but it won’t be finished for a month or so. A final word of warning: I would be very cautious of buying Thai silk on either Amazon or Ebay. Buying from those sites at best will get you the cheapest quality Thai silk and at worst a complete fake.
Best of Luck – Jeff
Thanks a lot. I have checked them out and connected on Instagram.
Came across this article by chance. Wish I had seen this on my last trip. 🙂 I’m always a bit apprehensive about buying silk, so I normally would just go to one of the shops in Chiang Mai or Bangkok(Thai silk village, Jim Thompson, etc). I’d like to be a bit more adventurous next time and his helps out tremendously. THANK YOU!
Hi Dee,
Thanks! I wrote my silk tutorial so you can shop with confidence. Good luck.
-Jeff
Hi, my name is Dave and I am looking for silk yarns that I would like to use in fly tying. Am in Thailand right now, but unfortunatelly I left Bangkok asking all over without any luck. Now I found your blog and its a great pitty I did not see it couple of days ago as I could stop by at the recommended places.
But maybe it can be still done – ideally I would like to order couple of different colors (5-10) in 5m-15m of each color, (usually there is only couple of cm use per fly so I dont need terribly lot). Would you please have a suggestion for thai based shop either on the web or name/phone I could try to reach out and ask? I speak little thai so I am able to communicate over phone if thers no webshop. Thanks a lot!
Hi Dave,
Thanks for contacting me. Whenever I’m asked about buying silk yarn I always recommend the website http://www.treenwaysilks.com. They will ship worldwide.
You can find silk yarn (It’s probably not Thai silk) in most sewing notions stores. The silk yarn is probably from China. The silk weaving villages use all the silk they produce and don’t sell it. There are a couple big silk yarn producers in Thailand, but they sell commercially.
Silk yarn is usually sold by weight and in hanks, but you can find it on cones. The smallest cones have 2,000-3,000 meters of silk yarn on them. Treenway Silks will give you a good selection at a good price. Best of luck!
-Jeff
[…] Thai Silk: The finest silk fabric in the world is woven in Northern Thailand. There are four types of Thai Silk: Plain Weave, Brocaded, Dupioni, and Mudmee. Traditional Thai Silk is handwoven and is a nod to the splendor of the old Kingdom of Siam. Please check out this amazing, informative blogpost to learn more about Thai Silk (there are many counterfeits out there). Click here. […]
Fascinating! I was just casually thinking I might want to buy some fabric in Thailand and found your blog. Wow! I learned so much!
Hi! Would you be able to recommend a store where I can buy silk yarns? Thank you!
Hello Saoirse,
Thanks for the inquiry. I recommend Treenway Silks at http://www.treenwaysilks.com I believe they ship worldwide. Even if you don’t buy from them you should still go to their website. It’s a great learning resource. Best of luck.
Hi Jeff,
This is a great blog post. My interest started with the thread. I am looking for Thai Silk metallic thread…or what I’ve been told is silk thread. I would like to find spools of it, but so far I’ve only been able to find cut pieces like these:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/614377905/36-inch-100thai-silk-strands-100-strands?ref=shop_home_active_1&crt=1
I found this place, but I’ve not gotten a response:
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Thai-silk-hair-shimmer-tinsel_105993893.html?spm=a2700.7724838.2017115.1.1a7d7e53mTFwh6
Do you think this is really silk? Can silk be metallic?
Thank you in advance for any information.
With gratitude,
Mary
Hello Mary,
Thanks for the great question. The “metallic” thread you provided links to is neither metallic nor silk. I am 99.9% sure it’s polyester or another synthetic fiber. Let me briefly explain:
Thai silk has been interwoven with silk metallic threads for centuries. The thread maker would take an extremely thin/narrow strip of actual gold/silver and wind it around a silk thread core. That is what authentic silk metallic thread is. It’s extremely rare and extremely costly today (if you can even find it.) What sewing stores sell you today under the name “metallic thread” is a plastic or synthentic material that mimics a metal that’s coated over a strong polyester core. There is no silk or metal in these cheap “metallic” threads you provided links to. (I’m not making any aesthetic judgement as to the beauty of adding these threads to whatever project you have in mind. They might be perfect for your project.)
Advertising these threads as “Metallic Thai silk” is false advertising that the vendor probably isn’t even aware of. Best of luck to you.
Hello Jeff
Great blog, such detail.
I live in Bangkok and would like some silk shirts made. I plan to go to the Silk Zone and visit a Tailor/Dressmaker there. What is the lightest and softest (after washing) Thai silk for wearing in this country? I read, repeatedly that silk is too hot and sweaty to wear here but Thai style silk jackets look thick and are often worn. I will wear the shirts at night and I am used to the heat here. I like the luxurious shimmer effect of Thai silk and love Thailand. Is Thai silk hand wash only?
Thank you
Glenn
Hello Glen and thanks for writing. There is no per se “lightest” or “softest” Thai silk. They can all have different weights and handles. You’ll find a wide array of Thai silks appropriate for shirt making. Mudmee silk and/or dupionis can make great shirts. You just have to shop to find what you like. Silk and warm weather go very well together. I have many silk shirts ranging from very lightweight fabric to heavier ones. Thai men have been wearing silk shirts for a long time. If you want a solid color, look at the plain weaves. You’ll see a lot of those at the Silk Zone. You’ll also find a good selection of off-the-rack silk shirts throughout Bangkok, although these shirts are often made with 100% silk (often printed), the silk is machine woven-but still great attire.
Silk care: You can wash silk on the delicate cycle of most modern washing machines. The best bet (safest) is always hand wash in cool water, gently wring, and dry without direct sunlight. Always read the care instructions that should be sewn near the label. You want to buy silk with a colorfast dye so it doesn’t bleed when washed. Best of luck.
Hi, I live in London and would like to order some Thai silk to make a dress. I was wondering whether you know of any reliable shop selling good quality silk that ships to the UK. Thanks
Hi Jay Cee. I’m going to refer you to a few silk sellers who I think will sell via mail order. I don’t know if they speak English (or if you speak Thai), but you can call them and see. I’m giving you their Instagram names. If you have an Instagram account great-if not you’ll have to open one. Just type the names in and you’ll see their silk selections and prices for most: @cheonsa_silk; @thaisilknannipa (Kon Gan); @khomkham_thaisilk (www.khomkhamthaisilk.com); @passa.official (www.passasilkwear.com); @thaisilk_lamphunmaithai; @thailandsurinsilk Once you go to their Instagram accounts, you’ll see more contact info (or you can contact them directly on IG. Best of luck!
Hi Jeff,
I came across your blog while finding information on the Thai Mulberry Silk supplier. It is so great to be able to learn so much through your blog. I am actually looking for thai mulberry silk in Thailand to produce pillowcases. Would you be kind enough to advise on the very first step on searching for suppliers in Thailand? Thank you so much in advance. Your kind assistance will be greatly appreciated.
Hi Camelia,
All silk in Thailand will be mulberry silk. I’ll assume you want to make pillowcases from plain weave Thai silk (although mudmee or other weaves could work). As I wrote in my blog, I recommend the Silk Zone at Old Siam Plaza in Bangkok to shop for silk. You can meet and speak with at least a dozen or more silk sellers there all in one area. The shops at the Silk Zone usually have much bigger shops in the silk weaving areas of Surin, Chonobot and Kon Gan. I also recommend Khomkham Thai Silk at http://www.khomkhamthaisilk.com in Chonobot (Instagram #khomkhan_thaisilk) and Jamnay Thai Silk located in Surin (Instagram #surin_thaisilk) Both those silk shops have excellent quality Thai silk at fair prices. Best of luck!
Hey Badrinath,
first of all thank you very much for all your.guides. I just went through Chiang rai and checked out some stores and compared it to market stuff.. I’m.getting into it, quite difficult though 🙂 unfortunately I’ll leave already tomorrow to the south and won’t have time to visit ur recommended shops. I would like to.bring my girlfriend a true silk bathrobe from my trip.
I got all her body measurings to give it to a tailor but I don’t know to which. Can you recommend any tailor around phuket or krabi who uses true silk and who’s not scamming me?
Best regards and thanks for everything
Korbinian
Hi Korbinian,
Badrinath? I’m Jeff the fabric blogger. Sorry, but I don’t know any tailors in Phuket. Remember that Thai silk is not woven in the south, although you may be able to find a dressmakers shop that carries some Thai silk. I’d look around the 5 star hotels. They usually have a tailor/dressmaker available for their guests. Best of luck.
I am looking to purchase some dupioni Thai silk and will be Chiang Mai and Bangkok – in that order. Do you have a recommendation as to which location will have the best quality and fair price?
Thank you
Kim
Hi Kim. Bangkok is better than Chiang Mai for shopping for dupioni Thai silk. In fact I never buy silk in Chiang Mai. I recommend the “Silk Zone” in Bangkok. It’s 15-20 independent silk vendors grouped together in a shopping plaza in central Bangkok. You can easily compare fabrics and prices. The silk vendors are legitimate and you don’t have to worry about fakes. I wrote an entire blog post called “Buying Thai Silk in Bangkok” and I give you all the info you need to shop at the Silk Zone. You can find the post under the “Thai Fabric Chronicles” on my blog. You may want to consider going to Lamphun (about a 45 minute drive from Chiang Mai) to shop for dupioni silk. But the “Silk Zone” is probably your best venue.
Hi Jeff.What a great article.Thank you for taking the time to prepare and write it.We are making a line of clothing form parmai and attempting to retail globally.We have various sources for the supply of parmai and as result are having troubles discerning the types of dyes being used.Would you be kind enough to advise us of how we might be able to discern the types of dye being used.Many many thanks
Hi Tony and thanks for writing me. Sorry for the delay in responding to your query. I’m not a dye expert. I’m assuming that your Thai silk will use commercial, color-fast dyes. (Natural dyes cannot be washed without washing away most of the dyes.) Different silk yarns react differently to commercial dyes. I believe “reeled” silk yarns better accept dyes than “spun” ( a lower quality silk yarn) yarns. The general rule for dying is to test, test and test again the dyes on small bolts of the fabric. Best of luck.
images not showing?
I just checked and all the photos loaded fine. I’d refresh the page. The photos are so important to understanding my tutorial. Thanks.
-Jeff
A very informative and excellent blog.. I have a question.. I would like to buy some Royal Brocaded Thai Silk as a saree gift for my Mom. Can you please advise what’s the best place to buy one in Thailand? I am yet to plan my trip so I can visit any part of the country to buy the same. Price is not an issue as I am looking for something that is top quality and something she can cherish to have for a long time.
Hi Badrinath. Thanks for contacting me. Royal Thai silk is usually commissioned before weaving and is not sold in a store to the general public because of the time/cost. But you can certainly purchase top-grade brocaded silk as a gift for your mom. I have two recommendations: 1. Go to Baan Ta-Sawaeng (very near to Surin) and walk about the village and see what the weavers have for sale. This village weaves the finest brocades in Thailand in my opinion. 2. Go to Chonobot (near Kon Gan) and shop the different silk shops in this small town. Here’s a recommended store: Meeudom Thai Silk (Owner: Supong Hinthaow) 229/1-2 Moo 4 Sribubreung Rd. Chonnobot, Khon Kaen, Thailand 40180. Tele: 66-43-287192. Best of luck!