Textile Theory

JUST ARRIVED- Plain 100% handwoven, hand-dyed Hemp and cotton!

Sam — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:53:44 +0000

Just arrived are a bundle of 100% handwoven cotton and hemp fabrics. These natural textiles are hand produced and hand-dyed, using natural plant dyes. Some of these have been washed in a rice water solution to starch them.

These will be available in the store to be purchased by 25cm lengths for smaller projects and also available by the metre. There is a variety of plain colours such as white, beige, black and blue. Look out for these in store this week. We will be using these for some of our projects too.

The arrival of some more fabulous new textiles!

Sam — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:48:05 +0000

I have received a special parcel of beautiful textiles, embroidered, cross-stitched and woven. All these have been sourced from the Kachin State, an ethnic group, situated in the North of Myanmar. These demonstrate that the tradition of making textiles and the importance of them in Kachin culture and society are still alive and well. These textiles are similar to those found in the hilltribes of Savannakhet, Salavan and Paxay, in southern Laos.

This large cross-stitched piece is backed with a black cotton and edged with red cotton. It is a heavy piece that would have taken months to complete. It is used as a bed throw or a table cloth.

We have a selection of thickly woven cotton throws which can be draped over couches or used as floor mats. They are intricately woven with motifs.

All of these textiles are one-off pieces and will be available in the store.

It's all about textiles

Sam — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:58:07 +0000

Happy New Year! Well, 2009 was certainly an eventful year. It was great to have met so many wonderful people with the same passions for textiles, art, architecture and life. 2010 will be a busy one for us, as I am sure it will be for everybody! I have been busily planning our Architecture & Textiles Exhibition for 2010, which is an exciting culmination of my disciplines of architecture, art and textiles. This is tremendous, yet rewarding work and I can’t wait to share it with you.

We have had many orders from Australia and the U.S for our tailor-made linen storage bags (which are free with any scarf or shawl purchased in our store). This batch of linen bags is currently in transit to Houston, Texas. They were requested for the safe storage of heirloom table linens. Contact us for a quotation of specific sizes.

We have a new range of textiles to add to the store that include, silk ikats, cotton ikats and cotton/silk ikats. We will also be adding plain, naturally dyed, hand-woven cottons. These will all be in the store, available to be purchased by 25cm lengths for special projects (25cm x 4 for 1m lengths).

This week we will be adding ikat, handwoven, hand-dyed, indigo, cotton throws (which I just love!). These are large and have intricate designs and are perfect for luxurious throws over a lounge, bed or chair. Great for those cool summer nights.

Resistance dyeing and the Lao WEFT IKAT

Sam — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:22:29 +0000

Below is another gorgeous piece of Lao cotton IKAT or MUTMEE, carefully handwoven into a smooth fine cotton textile. These textiles use resistance dyeing methods, similar to tie-dying, where the threads of the fabric are resist dyed before being woven to allow a pattern to appear. These threads are hand dyed, many numerous times , to achieve the desired colour. This type of textile is a weft Ikat weave where the warp threads are a solid, plain colour. This method of resist dying and Ikat weaving is similar to the Japanese Kasuri (the Japanese word for ikat) method of the weft ikat. The weft ikat is more complex than the warp ikat method, where the overall pattern is pre-laid in the resist dyed warp threads and the weft threads are solid colours. Ikat is an intricate art, requiring a skilled weaver to plan in advance, to know precisely where the pattern will fall on the textile, to produce a pattern that is culturally relevant or visually appealing.

Silk weft – tying the threads for resist dyeing before weaving.
(image courtesy of BTS Adventures)

I have paired this with a light aquamarine 100% silk dupion to highlight the sea blue hues of the cotton. These beautiful reversible cushions will instantly transform your room and will be 35×60cm pillows or lumbar cushions, taking advantage of the width and pattern of the textile. We have also listed limited edition fabrics to our online store. These may be purchased in 25cm lengths for your convenience.

Handwoven IKAT fabrics in store now!

100% handwoven Silk Ikat Scarves also in store!

NEW CUSHION COMPOSITION – Hot pink Flamingos!

Sam — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:00:05 +0000

Sorry to disappoint, there aren’t any flamingos but there is pink flamingo coloured silk!

I have held tightly on to this piece of intricately piece of 100% hand-woven cotton piece for a while now and it’s time to let go. Although it is difficult to photograph silks and capture the sheen of the finely woven cotton, you can get the general vibe of the piece. The colours of pink, yellow and muted white work wonderfully together to contrast beautifully against the fine black cotton. I have paired this with a pink 100% silk dupion to bring out the pink colour contrasting. These cushions will form part of the new summer range and will become decadent cushion covers with invisible zip and fluffy, high-loft, duck feather inserts. Stay tuned to see how these turn out!

Handmade, sustainable, 100% cotton table runners

Sam — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:07:55 +0000

Recently listed into our store are these beautiful 100% cotton table runners. Like our scarves and many of our textiles, these table runners are sourced directly from village co-ops and so, by purchasing these, you will be contributing to the sustainability of entire communities. The cotton itself is hand-grown, hand-harvested in the North of Laos and these fabrics are hand-dyed. The intricate diamond pattern that you see in these are woven into the cotton and are not applied to the flat surface of the textile as one might think. These runners are available in the SHOP – but be quick, there are limited numbers.

We believe that any purchase made in our store is special, therefore all purchases will be thoughtfully gift-wrapped, free of charge. Take advantage of this free gift-wrapping & our complimentary custom-made linen storage bag for Christmas gifts!

New silk Scarves & wraps in store

Sam — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:28:16 +0000

Many of you would have already noticed the new collection of 100% silk scarves, wraps and throws in store. These are all handmade in Laos and are all purchased from co-ops around Laos which allow villagers to gain financial independence and work directly from their homes. These villagers set their own prices, conditions of trade and hours of work. Textile Theory only purchase Lao-textiles through human-friendly co-ops that support sustainable community growth and development.

These pieces are either 100% Mulberry silk, with smooth yarns or the rougher woven 100% Eri silk, derived from the eri silk worm. These eril silk worms feed on castor leaves from the castor oil plant. It is known as non-violent silk due to the fact that the pupae is allowed to develop into adults and only the open ended cocoons are used for turning into silk. These cocoons are uneven and course and cannot be reeled to form silk like the mulberry silk and are therefore hand spun to produce the silk yarn.

ERI SILK DETAIL

Reviving a traditional craft

Sam — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:38:36 +0000

“In the old days we used silk for everything, even as diapers for babies. Every household in our village raised silkworms and produced silk. The women produced silk sinh in various mutmee (tie-dye) designs, silk blouses, silk sarongs for men, silk pillowcases, silk cushion covers, and silk cradle cloths.” Grandma Tu, Bak Village, Savannakhet Province.

During our trip to Laos, we purchased from villagers who were part of a large sustainable network of weavers over numerous villages across Laos. These villagers approached PADETC (Participatory Development Training Centre) or startup capital and help with marketing and business development. PADETC is a non-governmental, not for profit organization, which specializes in rural development. It recognized that silk production and weaving could alleviate poverty among poor rural women, and it added silk production and export to its rural development projects.

We have began the process of sorting through our shipment of textiles that followed us home on our journey. These handmade textiles are limited in number and we have scarves, shawls, table runners and we are beginning our custom made interior orders with these new fabrics! Please check back to view our new items.

Makphet, not for profit restaurant, Vientiane Laos

Sam — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 08:52:28 +0000

The other night we had our dinner at a restaurant called Makphet, which means hot chilli pepper. It is a restaurant/cooking school just off Chao Anou Road, Vientiane and is supported by UNICEF, AUSAID and numerous other organizations to help Lao street youth by providing them with hospitality and cooking training so that they may engage in something productive and learning new skills. This will enable them to gain employment elsewhere or become trainers themselves. During our meal, there were many staff and youths in training, all very attentive and keen to learn. The traditional Lao food was delicious and the serves, generous. To make the meal even more enjoyable, 100% of the profits go towards funding training for other youths. It also has a gift shop, which sells local wares made from recycled and sustainable materials. There you will find awesome gifts, bags and jewelery made from recycled paper, plastic and containers. We have stayed near this restaurant twice now but have just discovered it towards the end of our stay. If you make it to Vientiane, Laos, please visit and enjoy a meal here to support a worthwhile cause and to help sustainable community growth. It is worthwhile mentioning that there are also two of these not for profit restaurants set up to help street youth in Phnom Phenh, Cambodia. Please visit www.streetfriends.org for more information.

Tired from a blistering hot day out walking and taking in the sights, we arrive for dinner at Makphet below, greeted by an army of training staff and nasty mosquitoes. Tropical strength repellent with a high percentage of deet is a must! Below is my nephew who came with us from Australia. He has an endless supply of energy and it is tiring being with him from about 5.30pm onwards when all you want to be is – very still (Yes, I was half-asleep here!). Watching him eat in Laos is a funny sight. He has an aversion to foods such as tomatoes and milk, yet has been trying all sorts of things like boiled pig’s blood and marinated, grilled chicken intestines. Want a tomato? Yuck! How about blood and guts? No problem.

Eating & drinking in Laos

Sam — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:38:16 +0000

I have photographed so much of what we have been eating because I get a thrill out of all the variety and wonderful flavours that Laos has on offer. If you love asian food, you may have seen the dessert below at many asian grocers. It is coconut, corn and sugar, thickened with ground rice, or rice flour and steamed in little banana leaf plates. Yum. These little parcels were 15 cents each and as a consequence, I think I’m packing on the kilos faster than I can sweat them off!

We went for a walk to the Thalat Sao or Morning Market, in Vientiane. When I came here 12 years ago, it was a fairly large market but was modest in its construction. Now it is a triple storey building with a rooftop carpark. There is still a bit of the old part left, which I prefer for its rambling lanes and tightly packed wares. However, the shopkeepers in these old parts would benefit from the air-conditioning of an extension. We walked around the shopping ‘mall’ for a bit and because we were doing it Lao-style, we stopped every 10 minutes or so for a snack or drink. Below is a snap of our refreshments, a fresh young coconut drink, a grass jelly and syrup drink and a black jelly and syrup drink. This little stand at the Thalat Sao also made coconut or corn waffles for 4000kip each (AU60cents) while you wait, delish!

Later on that day, we went roaming the streets of Vientiane after being given cooling relief from the blistering hot sun, by the storm the previous night. We end up again at Phimpone mini-mart, a French-run convenience store that stocks everything that you would ever need during your stay in Laos, steaks, salmon, antipasto, gourmet yogurt, ice-creams, you name it. We go there almost every day for an espresso and their delicious home-made icecreams. We sit outside, our chairs facing the street and watch the world go by. When we came here the day before, I was startled by a man who was begging. He appeared before my unobservant eyes and presented us with mangled stumps where his hands used to be. He was clearly a victim of land mines. I was very shocked by this as I am from an area quite close to the city and to be honest, I have never seen a person without limbs.

Yet another cafe in Vientiane. I couldn’t tell you where it is because for some reason I walk around and remember my way via people, landmarks and street stalls and don’t even notice the street signs that say Rue Whatever. However, Vientiane is a very small city and you will easily find it. This French cafe has fantastic pastries and great coffee. Coffee is about AU$1.20. We like it here because you can sit here all day with a book, not move and you won’t be bothered.