Technique : Three twill Mudmee fabric weaving using the chemicals for fabric dyeing and painting.
Making process (in detail):

1. Pattern design
   Kru Eam creates the pattern by herself by writing the pattern on the graph paper to be used as a model for the Mudmee process.
2. Silk yarn bleaching
   This process is to remove sericin, and various contaminants attached to the silk before further dyeing process.  Firstly, dissolve bleaching powder in hot water (1 sachet of bleaching powder per 1 kilogram of silk yarns) then boil silk yarns for 30 minutes.
   Turn the silk yarns back and forth to allow thorough bleaching until the yellow yarns gradually turns white. Then rinse in clean water for 3 times. Twitch the yarns for further sun-dry process. The finished bleached silk yarns will become more softened and whitened and easy to dye.
3. Warp silk yarn dyeing
   Warp silk yarns are chemically dyed in black by dissolving black chemical dyeing color in hot water (2 sachets of chemical dyeing color per 1 kilogram of silk yarns). Add 2 tablespoons of salt and boil silk yarns for 30 minutes. During the time, turn the silk yarns back and forth to allow thorough dyeing. Set aside and leave to cool them down. Rinse in clean water for 3 times. Then twitch the yarns for further sun-dry process.
4. Weft silk yarn preparing
   Divide the bleached silk yarns into groups for tie-dyeing process, called “Khon Mee”. it is to circle the silk yarns around Lak Khon Mee (a stick) to the left and right to the specified number of silk yarns. Then tie the silk yarns into 1 lam and further tie the next lam until it reaches the numbers per pre-designed in the graph paper. For this Hol fabric weaving, 300 lams of silk yarns, called 1 hua, are unconnectedly tie-dyed from each lam.
5. Mudmee and weft silk yarn dyeing
   Tie the silk yarns according to the designed pattern in the graph paper by using the non-absorbing to color materials such as banana tree fiber or plastic rope to cover the dye color from the tied yarn area. Next, dye with chemicals dyeing color for 3 times by adding 2 tablespoons of salt in hot water and boil silk yarns for 30 minutes. During the time, turn the silk yarns back and forth to allow thorough dyeing. Set aside and leave to cool them down. Rinse in clean water for 3 times. Then twitch the yarns for further sun-dry process. The resist-dyeing process of this Mudmee fabric increases one more painting process for more colorful expression on the fabric per following processes:

1. “Mudmee” process using banana tree fiber or plastic rope to cover where the natural silk yarn color is needed.
2. Paint chemical color on the silk yarns per the designed pattern. When the colors are dry, conceal those area with “Obb Mee” technique.
3. Dye silk yarns in chemical purple color. Rinse and leave to dry.
4. Remove all the rope from tie-dyeing. Rinse and leave to dry.

6. Containing silk yarns into the shuttles : Contain each lam of silk yarns into the shuttles
7. Setting warp yarns into the beater (Fun wee)
   Set the black-dyed warp yarns into the beater (Fun wee) for 60 lobs. Three twill woven technique is used. Nip the warp yarns off and reel into a bobbin at the other end. Adjust the warps into order and put into the loom.
8. Weaving
   Manage the warp yarns in the heddle. Have the weft yarns spout back and forth to be woven in the beater and repeat until the woven dense fabric is perfectly completed. Reel and adjust the finished woven fabric in the fabric tube alternately.

The inspiration of this workpiece creating is Kru Eam’s determination to create the new and unique fabric pattern to participate in a fabric contest held in Sakon Nakhon province about 20 years ago. The workpiece was initially inspired by her nephew’s drawing book. She asked him to draw those animals again as the model for fabric pattern design. The painting method is applied to replace silk yarn dyeing technique, similar to drawing and painting on the drawing paper. This makes the woven fabric as unique, colorful and cheerful as the printed fabric.

Reference :

• Institute for the Promotion of Thai Arts and Crafts .(Public Organization) n.d. “Arts and Crafts of Hol Cloth”. www.sacit.or.th. Accessed July 2023, 1 . /_83845c9be065648a743d7bbbab03e21e.pdf
• Eam Yabdee, Interview by We View Go Co., Ltd. 2023. (24 March).

Compiled by :

• We will Go Co., Ltd.
• Knowledge Promotion and Dissemination Department Office, Handicraft Value Promotion Institute, Promotion of Thai Arts and Crafts (Public Organization)