Behind the Fabrics
Unravel the tales of textiles, sustainability, and the long-standing bilateral ties behind the “Time Owes Us Remembrance” installation
Yo-yo (2023) by U.S. Embassy BangkokU.S. Embassy Bangkok
Yo-Yo
These little fabric puffs are called Yo-Yos. Yo-Yos are made from circles of fabric sewing a gathering stitch around the turned edge. The thread is then pulled and gathered to lay flat as a circle rosette.
In the 1920s, American women on a budget often made Yo-Yo textiles from fabric scraps, old bed sheets, or leftover feed sacks. Yo-Yo quilts, fashioned as individual “rosettes” sewn together to form a decorative item, were one of the most imaginative of 20th-century textiles.
American quilt (2023) by U.S. Embassy BangkokU.S. Embassy Bangkok
American Quilt
The American quilt was originally a utilitarian article, born of the necessity of providing warm covers for beds. Early settlers and emancipated people could not afford to simply discard things when they wore out; necessity required they carefully use their resources.
Therefore, when blankets became worn, they were patched, combined with other blankets, or used as filler between other blankets. In the 100 years between 1750 and 1850 thousands of quilts were pieced and patched, and many of them are preserved.
Many of these quilts were so elaborate that years were spent making them. Today, they are cherished as precious heirlooms occupying honored places in homes and museums. Those early quilts provide a glimpse into the history of quilting as well as the history of the United States.
Mat Mii (Ikat)
The Northeastern region of Thailand is known for its silk ikat (Mat Mii in Thai), a resist-dyeing process in which the patterns that will appear on the finished cloth are dyed onto weft threads prior to weaving.
Mat Mii weaving is the oldest form of pattern weaving in Thailand and dates back approximately 3,000 years when sericulture (silk production) was first introduced to Thailand.
Mat Mii is produced by tying silk yarn in the desired pattern with straw, hay or banana ropes. The ropes stop water from affecting the silk yarns, whilst dyeing it in the process. The method is repeated as many times as necessary, depending on the preferred color variations.
Afterwards, each silk yarn is woven to create a variety of designs, combining the colored areas to produce patterns. The more colors, the more repetitions are needed. Every seemingly simple design displays an artisanal level of detail and how much effort goes into the creation.
Handwoven cotton (2023) by U.S. Embassy BangkokU.S. Embassy Bangkok
Handwoven Cotton
Cotton, originally cultivated in the Indus Valley, has been used to make textiles for thousands of years. Its coolness, absorbency, and ease of wear and dyeing are properties that have made it popular worldwide. It is the fiber most often used to make traditional Thai textiles.
The cotton used for weaving is grown locally or nearby the village. Before cotton can be used for weaving, it must be spun to twist and entangle the fibers and thus making a thread. Spinning offers choices of making thin or thick yarn and tight or loose yarn.
A simple, traditional treadle loom is used to weave a cotton brocade which has one set of warps and wefts for the ground fabric and an extra weft for the pattern.
Sustainable Materials from Thailand
The artist repurposed fashion waste sourced from Rama Textile Industry in Samutprakarn to evoke a verdant lushness in “Time Owes Us Remembrance”.
Over three separate factory visits in 2023, she hand selected hundreds of bundles of dyed threads that did not pass color testing and were set aside for resale to local crafters.
The artist’s process of giving new life to textile waste reminds us all to look around and think more critically about creative ways to build sustainability through reimagination into our lives.
Sustainable materials from the United States (2023) by U.S. Embassy BangkokU.S. Embassy Bangkok
Sustainable Materials from the United States
The artist sourced these materials from a warehouse in Queens, NYC whose mission is to serve and cultivate a practice of repurpose and reimagination for community-based organizations, schools and social practice artists in the New York Area.
These surplus fabrics were reclaimed from events, stage sets, and other venues so that students, artists and community members could find new, imaginative uses for them to foster connection, belonging and joy.
Continue your journey of weaving and explore more in our Co-creation in Thailand and the U.S.
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