Thailand's most famous type of silk

Thailand's most famous type of silk is ‘mut-mee’ or tie-dyed silk. ('MuC' means to tie, while 'rrwe' are very thin noodles). The lengthwise or warp threads are wound tightly onto a wooden frame of the correct size for the sarong, or other article being made. Short strings made from banana fiber are tied to the silk threads in the pattern of the weaver's choice. The whole frame is then dipped into dye of the background color, rinsed and dried, after which the pieces of banana fiber are cut away, leaving undyed areas, which are dabbed with other colors; and so the brilliant multicolored pattern takes shape, to be woven into cloth on the loom.