The Magic of Thai Silk

The word silk or pra pai is nearly synonymous with Thailand, however legend holds that the Chinese Empress Si Ling Chi discovered the mythic material while sipping tea underneath a royal mulberry tree. A cocoon fell into her cup and the empress became enthralled by her unraveling of the fine thread, thus creating China’s famed silk industry. How the silkworms came to Thailand is a mystery, since the Chinese banned the smuggling of silkworm eggs, cocoons, and mulberry seeds under punishment of death, although some historians say that a Chinese princess promised to a Thai prince concealed silkworm eggs in her hair as part of her dowry. Silk threads dating back some 3000 years have been found in the ruins of Baan Chiang, lending credence to the agelessness of this myth.



Few people understand the process of transforming silkworm cocoons into silk. Cultivators feed hordes of caterpillars on mulberry leaves through four shredding of their skin before they actually begin to weave the valued cocoons in thousands of triangular-shaped figure eights from the liquid silk filling their bodies in a 4-5 days process. Afterwards the cocoons are placed in a vat of boiling water and the Isaan silk farmers love their part of the procedure as they find the broiled pupa especially tasty, saying it tastes like corn.

The silk fibers unraveled from the coons is generally golden in color and can extend almost 500 meters in length, taking up to 8000 cocoons to make a single dress. Threads are dyed according to need by synthetic dyes, which hold the color better than vegetable dyes, but convey a natural feel of Asia unlike sophisticated Italian silk or the smoothness of Chinese silk.

The Thai silk industry is centered in the Khorat Plateau, although the weaving takes place in Chiang Mai, especially close to the Sankampaeng factory district, where visitors can view the process from beginning to end. Tourists are sometimes unsure of whether Thai silk is actually silk, because of their ignorance of different countries’ silk techniques and they should feel free to ask questions of the factory representatives to expand their knowledge of this ancient material.

In order to assure the authenticity of your silk purchase buyers should be able to recognize the real thing by firstly price, since imitation silk is about 90% cheaper than real silk. Secondly the weave of true silk will show handmade faults in the threads along the warp and weft. Polyester imitations will be perfect in comparison. Luster is third determinant of validity, because Thai silk is designed with one color for warp and another for weft, bestowing a luxurious glow to the natural fiber, so that when you hold a piece of 100% silk to the light the color will differ due to the angle of the light. The imitation with shine only white.

Fourthly look at the print. 100% Thai silk will only have the imprint of the design on the other side and only the full-print side will change color when subjected to the light.

Finally there is the famed Burn Test.

Taking a match to a single thread will burn the material to a dusty ash and smell like burnt hair. Imitation silk will sputter like burning plastic.

As with most purchases the buyer must be aware of imitations and not succumb to his own desire to get a good deal at the expense of buying the real thing.

Thai silk was popularized by the American Jim Thompson, perhaps the most famous of the vanished men in Asia. His disappearance has been a source of novels ever since he went missing from the Cameron Highlands in 1967, leaving behind his wonderful house in Bangkok, which has to be a must-see while visiting the Thai capitol. His devotion to the Muslim Cham weavers exposed the world to the diamond brilliance of their fine work and he assisted many of these poor workers to achieve greatest through maintaining traditional skills in an ever-changing world. The Jim Thompson House in Bangkok is rightly listed as the second most popular attraction next to the Imperial Palace.

The Jim Thompson House is located on Soi Kasemsan (2) Song, opposite the National Stadium on Rama I Rd.

Opening Hours : 09:00 to 17:00 everyday with the last Guided Tour at 16:30*

Getting to the Jim Thompson House : Located in the center of Bangkok, it is conveniently reached by car, taxi, Tuk tuk, or the Sky Train (Bangkok Transit System).

Admission: Adult 100 baht; Students 50 baht

* Compulsory guided tours around the house.

Contact information:
Jim Thompson House
6 Soi Kasemsan 2, Rama 1 Road, Bangkok
Tel: (662) 216-7368 Fax: (662) 612-3744

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