The making of Matmee

Have you ever wondered how traditional hand woven fabric is made?

 

ScissorsRockPaper’s mat bags are made from Matmee cloth which has been hand woven on traditional bamboo looms in the Isan region of Thailand. Here’s a little more detail on this ancient craft.

 

The first step is to measure out the cotton thread that will be used to make a length of fabric. The thread is wound onto skeins (A length of thread wound in a loose long coil). In some small villages the weavers have been known to measure thread by winding it right around their house!

 

Matmee is a dye resist technique that when woven forms a pattern, in fact the name Matmee means ‘tie the row’. The weaver takes a dye resistant material to tie in specified places in each row. These intricate patterns are sometimes ancient designs and sometimes modern interpretations. Some of the more modern and intricate designs may have some dye hand painted onto the skeins at this point, then they’re ready to be dyed.

 

A wide variety of dyes are currently used, both natural and synthetic. Once the skeins have been dyed, they’re dried in the sun. The Matmee threads are then wound onto bobbins while the loom is prepared. Preparing a loom takes many days, as more than 1200 threads are attached by hand! This process is repeated for every new length of fabric.

 

Once the loom is ready the weaver can begin their magic. A skilled weaver might produce about a meter and a half of fabric in a day.

 

Clothing and accessories made from traditional cloth is loosing popularity in Thailand, as cheaper mass produced itmes become more readily available. Without projects like The Regina Center, who are still teaching and producing Matmee cloth, this amazing craft is in danger of being lost.

 

Check out SRP’s Matmee mat bags here