About Lao silk

The origins of silk can be traced back to ancient China. It is not known when it came to Laos but the silk industry in Laos is still considered a “cottage industry” compared with China or India.

At Eastern Weft we use only the finest mulberry (Lao) silk. The silk worm (Bombyx mori) feeds on mulberry leaves (morus) to produce the best quality of fibre among the different varieties of silk. When the silkworm matures it spins a soft, creamy white cocoon made from one continuous thread of fluid silk that hardens on contact with the air. The silk consists of two proteins: an inner core of fibroin and an outer cover of gum sericin. During reeling (the process to extract the silk from the cocoons), the cocoons are immersed in hot water to enable the sericin portion to soften and to allow unwinding without any breakages. About forty good quality cocoons make one fine unbroken thread of silk about a mile long.

Eri silk is another type of non-mulberry silk produced in Laos, from the eri silk worm (Philosamia ricini). The main food source for these worms is castor leaves. The cocoons of the eri silk worm cannot be reeled like the mulberry silk, as they are made of uneven and course fibres but the silk from the cocoons is hand-spun to produce the silk yarn.

Natural dyes
The process of using natural dyes is extremely labour intensive and no longer a common practice due to the introduction of cheaper chemical dyes. All of our textiles are produced using only natural dyes (our master weaver Kaisy Sophabmixay was taught this craft as a child). The dyes are made from materials sourced from all over Laos and vary each season.

Weavers
We are extremely honoured to have such gifted weavers, each excels in their own distinct style and technique for example ikat, tapestry or plain weave.

At first it was very difficult to convince the young weavers to move away from traditional Lao patterns and try something new as they are very superstitious.

Now, they are proud of their work as they are very much part of the production process and are excited about new and ongoing challenges.

Weaving process
Preparations for weaving can often take longer than the weaving itself.
Individual threads must be counted and knotted on the loom for each specific width of fabric.

After the silk is dyed it must be spun onto bobbins and spools ready to be placed shuttles for weaving.

Warp - the long threads that go lengthwise (vertically) along the weaving and must be fully attached before weaving.

Weft - the horizontal threads woven across the warp to produce fabric. The thread on the shuttle is the weft.