Silk Fabrics by the Yard
»Handwoven silk is of higher quality and has soul.«
Raw SilkRaw silk is spun like wool what makes it feel warm, and gives it structure. Usually it comes unwashed, which means it has its natural stiffness, glue from the silk cocoon and rice water the warp is brushed with to make weaving easier. The first time it is washed it will shrink slightly, about 1 cm, and it will become softer and a little denser in the weave. Several designers are using our raw silk. | 250 kr/meter |
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Silk TaffetaStrong, dense, plain weave silk. Shrinks a little after first wash after which it becomes a little softer. | 300 kr/meter |
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Habotai SilkWoven from smooth unspun silk. It is delivered unwashed, smooth. It is good for many things, for example we use to make kimonos. Despite being thin is a very durable silk, better than Chinese machine-woven silk that dominates the market. | 150 kr/meter |
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Wild Silk (Bombyx mori)Cambodia has a special wild silk called the golden or yellow silk because it has a yellow color in contrast to normal silk which is white. The thread is shorter than in white silk and therefore stronger. (The thread in white silk is up to 1500 meters long, the yellow is approx. 300 m in a cocoon.) It is difficult to weave, not suitable for machine weaving, partly because of the high content of glue. | 275-350 kr/meter |
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Silk OrganzaSilk organza is thinner than Habotai silk, more transparent. It is stiff and great for drapes, many designers and theaters have purchased it from us. It comes in the same colors as Habotai silk. It is handwoven like all our silk and its stiffness is natural, since it is achieved by not boiling the glue out of silk. All the silk worms have 4 glands from 2 of them the thread is emitted and from 2 others the glue is emitted making the cocoon hard. This glue is preserved in our organza. If you wash organza hand in not very hot water, it will retain most of its stiffness. Washes in hot water it will slowly become softer. | 130 kr/meter |
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Striped Silk OrganzaThe striped silk organza differs from the ordinary organza by the inwoven streaks. Virtually all of our handwoven silk have inwoven patterns which gives them a depth and colorfastness.Origin: Cambodia Width: Approx. 88 cm Uses: Skirts, pillow covers, blouses, nightwear, curtains, scarves, bridal veils, bed curtains, mosquito nets, etc. | 150 kr/meter |
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Strong Silk OrganzaThis is a very strong raw silk like organza. It is woven on old Japanese instructions. Because of its great stiffness and thickness, it is more suitable for interior decoration than the regular organza. Like regular silk organza it maintains stiffness when it is washed by hand at low temperature. It is woven into the yellow silk and plant dyed. Is very durable. It is hard to get, and our stock is limited, but we welcome orders and may have woven large lengths.Origin: Cambodia Width: Approx. 97 cm Application: Curtains, cushion covers, wallpaper, room divider, picture framing, upholstery etc. | 200 kr/meter |
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Ikat SilkOur ikat is of high quality, high colorfastness, with punctate staining of thread before weaving. There is a depth in ikat, which distinguishes it from printed silk.All the beautiful patterns are inwoven and can not be made by machines. There are unique pieces of silk fabric. No two ikat weavings are identical. Design is not written, but exists only in the minds of the weavers. Ikat woven fabrics usually have a little different right and wrong side, a darker and lighter side. Some prefer to use inside as outside. We do not cut in Ikat fabric, but sell only whole coupons. On the other hand it can be used for many different things. Origin: Cambodia Width: Approx. 95 cm Application: Table Runners, dresses, scarves, cushion covers, upholstery, bags, etc. | 200-500 kr/meter (sælges kun i hele kuponer) | Examples:
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Luxury Ikat SilkThis luxury ikat silk differs from conventional ikat silk with its rich detail and beauty of design with rich colors. The problem with it is that it takes an incredibly long time to weave it, therefore it will disappear one day. These are the most amazing classical ikat silk fabrics that are woven in the world today. They are inspired by the ancient royal ikat weavings from Cambodia, not much to the incredibly fine ikat has survived the Khmer Rouge. But tradition and the craftsmanship is still exists with a few weavers in Cambodia. Each design is unique and will never be woven again as weavers keep their design in their head and improvise when they weave. It takes between 2 and 3 months to produce a cloth around 3.5 meters. They are dyed with vegetable dyes and non-polluting German colors. At a meeting of ASEAN all the Cambodian ministers' shirts were sewn in this type of ikat. The reason why it has survived in Cambodia is that the wealthy people use it for weddings and other festive events. It is very strongly woven and can be used for many purposes. It's hard to get that kind of ikat today. Our ikat is of high quality, coloring, color fastness, stain punctate thread before weaving. There is a depth of ikat, which distinguishes it from printed silk. Ikat woven pieces usually have a little different right and wrong, a darker and lighter side. Some prefer sometimes to use inside as outside. We do not cut in Ikat dresses, but sells only whole coupons. On the other hand it can be used for many different things. Width: Approx. 98 cm Application: Table Runners, dresses, scarves, cushion covers, upholstery, bags, etc. | 700-1.200 kr/meter (sælges kun i hele kuponer) | Examples:
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Patterned SilkAs with ikat silk the pattern is inwoven. Very resistant color.We buy it mainly in Cambodia but also some in Burma. We usually don't cut in the patterned silk, but deliver the fabric like we receive it from the weavers, the pieces are usually not very large and the pattern is woven usually only once. Origin: Cambodia, Burma Width: Approx. 100 cm Uses: Skirts, pants, bags, jackets, ties, clothes, pillowcases, etc. | 150-300 kr/meter | Examples:
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Frequently Asked Questions
I have found cheaper silk fabrics elsewhere on the web. Why should I buy it here?
It is a question of quality. Almost all silk on the web is machine woven. Our silk is handwoven, therefore we can guarantee that it is 100% silk, which is not always the case with the machine-woven silk.Handwoven silk is not burdened or subjected to chemical attack that weakens it. The handwoven silk is not leached out like the machine-woven, what makes it stronger. Dyeing is also carried out by hand by the weavers, all silk is dyed before weaving and therefore has high color fastness. In addition, handwoven silk has its own beauty, with its small variations. A human being has made it, not a machine. And we support poor people's ancient craft of using it.
When I look at the pictures, there are irregularities in the weaving. Is it poorly woven silk?
Complain not about the little bugs in our silk, therein lies its beauty and humanity. Machine woven silk is without variation, unlike handwoven silk. But all our silk is well woven, and controlled by us when we buy it and when we sell it.
How do I know it is genuine silk?
Many tourists have returned from Thailand with something they thought was silk and have been horribly cheated. It was polyester or viscose rayon or other synthetics. Only those who are very experienced can see if something is silk or not, and may even also be in doubt. If something is shining very strongly is completely smooth, it is usually not silk. Silk is an organic natural material, you take it between two fingers is not completely smooth. The definitive test is to burn a thread. If it forms a clump like when you burn hair and does the clump dissolve when you touch it and smells like burnt hair, then it is silk. Silk is in fact made of the same material as nails and hair.
What is the difference between raw silk and normal silk?
This is the same silk. But the raw silk thread is thicker because it is spun from the tangled silk cocoon on the outside. When you get further into the cocoon the silk fiber is clean, and produces a smoother surface in the weave. Raw silk is often little more expensive because it is heavier, it is more silk on it.
What is the difference between yellow silk and ordinary silk?
The white silk is a plateau silk originally coming from China. Almost all silk is white silk. The white silk is a hybrid that was bred for thousands of years. They wanted a long thread. If you could pull a thread out of the white cocoon, it could be up to 1500 meters long.Yellow silk or golden silk from Cambodia and bred today in a few places there. This is another silk moth, and like so many other things not unchanged for thousands of years. A tropical silk. It is harder to weave because it contains much glue. But there is only about 350 meters of silk fiber in a cocoon, and it is very strong and eventually becomes incredibly soft. We have bought a stock of it, but it is now very difficult getting hold of as there is not produced so much of it, and buyers from Japan and Thailand desire it.
Do I support the silk weavers when I buy silk here?
We buy our silk directly from weavers in Laos, Burma and Cambodia. We pay what they charge. If we don't, they stop weaving for us. The villages where we buy woven silk are much more wealthy than the villages only living off agriculture. It's different from goods produced in factories where wages and work rights are almost nonexistent. Our silk is woven mostly by independent producers working in the family. If they don't get enough out of it, they raise the price of silk or stop weaving.
Why is most of your silk from Cambodia?
We get silk not only from Cambodia, but also from Laos and Burma, and plan to import hand woven silk from other countries. The reason why we buy so much in Cambodia is that all the silk is hand woven here, that they use yellow silk, and that they have mastered the art of plant dyeing and because Cambodian weavers are the best ikat weavers in the world. In China there is no longer any handwoven silk. In many other countries where handwoven silk was once common, industry silk is taking over. We believe that handwoven silk is better and has a spiritual human quality that surpasses industry silk. The villages where we get our silk woven in Cambodia have a better living standard than where they do not weave. Weavers continue a thousand year old culture, which gives them pride and self respect that needed in a country like Cambodia, with its gruesome recent history.
Special Orders
By order we may provide other colors. Our weavers can produce any color it should be, also plant dyed. For special orders in raw silk, silk taffeta, Habotai silk and silk organza, one must purchase at least 22 meters. Contact us if you have special requests.
We guarantee quality silk. Width and color can vary slightly. We have provided fabrics for curtains, upholstery, The Royal Danish Theatre and many designers. Contact us if you have a special request.
All our fabrics are handwoven with no chemical weighting. We have silk in many thicknesses and qualities, and many ikat weavings. Cambodian ikat is some of the most beautiful ikat in the world. If you see an ikat fabric on our website you want in greater lengths, we can probably get it woven within 2-3 months. Contact us if you have special requests regarding ikat.
Since it is handmade, we can only supply the fabric in 90 cm width and in lengths up to 22 meters of raw silk and a little longer for ikat and plain silk. This length can be repeated in additional fabrics.
Delivery of fabrics
We are constantly expanding our inventory, we can supply all colors, but sometimes it may take a little time. Stock items we will normally send one day after we receive your order. We work with private weavers who are interrupted by floods, work in rice fields, weddings, births, many things prevent them from delivering the goods quickly. In return we promise to deliver as quickly as possible, and can guarantee that the product is delivered.
Dyeing
All our silk thread is dyed before being woven. We strive that all our silk is plant dyed, or colored using non-polluting German colors.
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