Pha Sin Chok Mai Kam with inserted gold brocade

Group of arts and crafts Type of Handicraft

Pha Sin Chok Mai Kam with inserted gold brocade or the Royal silk sarong is a cultural prosperity transcending to generations for over 200 years. Kru Pranom Thapeng replicated the pattern of this fabric from the image displayed in Khum Luang Mueang Phrae Museum, owned by Chaomae Bua Lai, The ruler of Phrae’s wife, who was assumed to be the descendant of the Tai-Yuan Yonok Chiangsan ethnic group, as she possessed more than 100 ancient woven fabric patterns. The workpiece is currently displayed at Khum Luang Mueang Phrae Museum. Pha Sin Chok Mai Kam (Gold brocade) is considered a Royal silk sarong as it was exempted to wear among the upper-class women in Yonok Chiangsan Kingdom. Kru Pranom Tapaeng has meticulously replicated all details both in pattern designing and weaving techniques, while combining the ancient Nok Kin Nam Ruam Ton pattern. He has determined to preserve the ancient silk sarong to existence. The fabric was entirely woven from naturally dyed silk under base color in red, consisting of the ancient Tai-Yuan woven fabric characteristics:

  • Ew Sin or Hua Sin (Top part) – White woven silk fabric and red woven silk fabric assembled together.
  • Tua Sin (Middle part) – In Tah Kan Dam pattern (Black strip pattern) alternately woven with black, red, orange and brown as well as gold brocade all through the fabric.
  • Teen Sin (Bottom part) – Teen Chok fabric consisting of

- Main motif (Huge pattern at the center of Pha Teen Chok) in Kah Moddang motif.
- Supplementary motif (On top and at the bottom of main motif) : Peacock pattern, alternately woven with Nok Koom pattern, and finished with Hang Sapao pattern.
Mai Sin is in between both Teen Sin patterns, to separate each pattern, while also to symbolize the weaver’s identity.

Pha Sin Chok Mai Kam with inserted gold brocade is the long-inherited Tai-Yuan Yonok Chiangsan Pha Sin Teen Chok for more than 200 years. As the fabric for the upper-class ladies, the silver or gold brocade, imported from India, are inserted. It is the horizontally striped pattern fabric with a single seam stitching under three main colors: red, yellow and green. Chok weaving technique is used in Tah Moo Lueang pattern and inserted silver or gold brocades.

Types :
Textile
Culture :
Tai-Yuan culture
Craftsman :
Dimension :
100 centimeters wide, 180 centimeters long.
Medium :
1. Silk yarns 2. Cotton yarns 3. Alkaline solution (water mixed with liquid soap or dishwashing liquid) 4. Natural colors - Mai Khae or heartwood of jackfruit tree for yellow pigment - Stick lac for red or pink pigment - Khram for indigo blue pigment - Mai Khae for yellow pigment and re-dye with Khram for green pigment - Khram and stick lac for purple pigment - Sal bark or Shorea bark for goldish brown pigment 5. Natural mordant substances such as alum, salt, alkaline solution
Date :
2562
Information

Technique : Chok weaving
Making process (in detail) :

  1. Pattern designKru Pranom imaginatively creates the continuous fabric patterns on paper then on the computer program (Excel) similarly to cross stitching. This technique enables other weavers in his group to follow the pattern weaving. The motif mainly illustrates the unique Phrae province’s motif.
  2. Cotton yarn bleaching
    This process is to remove sericin, and various contaminants attached to the cotton before further dyeing process. Firstly, dissolve3-4 tablespoon of liquid soap or dishwashing liquid in 20 liters of water. Then boil a proper portion of cotton yarns in hot water for 1 hour. Stir and turn the cotton yarns regularly for deep cleansing. Then hang to dry and rinse in clean water and twist to semi-dry. Leave to dry for further natural dyeing, and yarn reeling as well as warp yarn setting processes.
  3. Cotton yarn dyeing with natural colors as follows :
    · Mai Khae or heartwood of jackfruit tree - Yellow pigmen
    · Stick lac - Red or pink pigment
    · Khram - Indigo Blue pigment
    · Mai Khae for Yellow pigment, then a second dyeing with Khram for Green pigment
    · Khram and stick lac - Purple pigment
    · Sal bark or shorea bark- Goldish brown pigment
  • The ratio of materials for silk yarn dyeing using tree barks: 4 kilograms of tree barks per 1 kilogram of silk yarns per 20 liters of water. Hit tree barks into pieces and soak in water for 1 night. Then boil with water for 2 hours and filter the liquid out. Put 5 steins of cleaned silk yarns into a hoop and boil in 50–60-degrees Celsius. Add mordant substances such as alum, salt, alkaline solution and the silk yarns back and forth to allow thorough dyeing at every 5 minutes for 2 hours. Set aside and put in another non-metal container with a close lid. Leave it for 1 night. Rinse in clean water then twitch the yarns for further sun-dry process.
  • The ratio of materials for cotton yarn dyeing using tree leaves:  Mince tree leaves into pieces and follow the same process as that silk yarn dyeing using tree barks.
  1. Cotton yarn reeling Reel the dyed warp yarns and supplementary yarns with reeling kit to adjust and smoothen the cotton yarn texture before the yarn-spinning process.
  2. Won Fai or Krue Fai (Warp yarn setting)
    In Thai-northern dialect ‘warp yarns’ are called Krue. It is to set the warp yarns from the reeling kit onto the above rail then onto Pai Kor - a device made of wood). Then calculate how much yarns are needed for the desired width and length of the woven fabric. Next, line the yarns from Pia Kor onto the loom (dialectally called Krue Hook).
  3. Setting warp yarns into the beater
    Insert the warp yarns into the reed and set each cotton yarn onto the beater; 40 columns per 1 lob (80 cotton yarns). For Chok weaving, 2 cotton yarns are inserted in each column and 2 pairs of silk yarns (4 silk yarns) for weaving the end of fabric. Then set the yarns from the beater into Sapan or the heald (round-shape stick made of wood or other materials) to form a simple crisscross pattern while framing both sides of woven fabric with Mai Pang.
  4. Weft yarn preparing
    Reel the finished dyed cotton yarns into a bobbin (made of bamboo or other materials, with a hole in the middle). Put into order before containing into the shuttle by inserting coconut stalks, or other similar materials with the same length of the shuttle, into the shuttle’s hole. Then put the stalks in the columns inside the shuttle and at the shuttle head to hold the bobbin with the shuttle while weaving.
  5. Weaving
    To make a set of Pha Sin, 2 weaving techniques are used: standard weaving and Chok weaving
    Standard weaving – Manage the warp yarns in the heald. The warp yarns are then separated by raising or lowering heald frames to form a clear space where the weft can pass. The weft is propelled across the loom by a shuttle. It is then pushed up against the fell of the cloth by the reed or the beater. Have the weft yarns spout back and forth to be woven in the beater and constantly hit the beater, until the woven dense fabric is perfectly completed. Or have the weft yarns crisscrossed with the yarns in the shuttle and spout back and forth to be woven in the beater and constantly hit the beater twice at minimum, until the woven dense fabric is perfectly completed.
    Chok weaving – The patterns on Chok fabric are created by picking up the warp with a porcupine quill, a pointed stick, or fingers, then adding the colorful or special weft to create patterns on the reverse side of the loom. The patterns can only be admired once the reverse side is turned up – called “Kwam Lai Long”. Propel the weft yarns (onto the other static shuttle) once each row of Chok weaving is completed and hit the beater twice at minimum. The knots from Chok weaving must be neatly fixed on the reverse side of fabric. The knot fixing is required when the new pattern weaving begins or when the waft yarns being woven runs out. The smooth patterns on both sides and the dense fabric texture, against manually squeezing trial, are expected on the finished woven fabric.
  6. Assembling Pha Sin (Tube skirt)
    Manually sew each part of Pha Sin: Ew Sin (Top part), Tua Sin (Middle part) and Teen Sin (Bottom part), under the traditional way and different sewing techniques.
References