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Bountiful Burma Silk

 

I say this fabric is bountiful because of the many different ways that we sell it and you can use it.  First, the specifics-this lovely fabric is hand woven in Burma, or as it is known now, Myanmar. Many of the weavers bring the fabric to Chiang Mai to sell. It  is a blend of either silk and rayon or silk and cotton.  When possible, we like to visit the places where the fabrics are made, to see the process, and begin developing a relationship with the people.  Although this is made right across the border from Thailand, we've been warned that it is not safe to go there.  We listened and found out that the Myanmar border patrol will take your passport and keep it until you return and then make you pay an unknown amount of money to get your passport back.  Believe me, I'm not up for that kind of adventure. 

The crowning glory is the low price.  We offer the solid colors in 1/3 and 3/4 yards, and the full bundle is 3 1/2 to 4 yards.  Most bundles I have checked are 4 yards. 

Burma Batik

This fabric is not only batiked, but also hand painted.  The solid burma is the base, and at first we made all 4 yards with one design.  One day, I thought it would be fun to have a coordinated design to go with it.  I made the second design on the same piece-2 yards of 2 different designs. 

The lines are where the wax has been applied.  Now they are painting the flowers.  

See the finished painting?  This area is an example of what the Thais call "factories". These artisans work at home or at someone else's home where everything is set up in the backyard of a house.  It is almost impossible to drive around and stumble upon a factory.  You have to know someone, who knows someone, who talked to someone else to know where to go.  During rainy season (May thru October), the work is slower because the color is better if it dries in the natural sunlight.  It has great drape and because it has been washed several time during the process, it can be machine washed in cold water and machine dried.

Burma Pintuck

Once more, we take the solid burma bundles and make a beautiful fabric.  This has been pintucked.  I wish I could find my photos of this factory, so you can see the work this takes.  All the the pintuck is sewn on a machine with a single needle, not the multiple needle machines we have.  One fabric we have, is 30 yards long and they pintuck it all.  

The solid Burma does not have a wide range of colors.   Please see our Product Care page for more information about caring for this product.  All of the different burmas  can be used for clothing, dying (white only), fiber arts, and quilting. In most cases, the burma does not need to be fused, unless you are handling it a lot.   These make great and inexpensive backing for quilts, especially the batiks.  At this time, my batik maker is not producing much and I have limited quantities.  I think it will take a trip to Thailand to figure this out.  The pintuck is also limited.