HANDSPUN ERI SILK THROW

A sublime lightweight, textured throw handmade using the finest handspun Eri silk fibres. Eri silk yarns have a unique texture that feels like a mixture of wool, silk and cotton. Wonderfully soft and full of character the handspun yarn is uneven varying in thickness throughout giving the throws a highly textured look and feel. The throws come in their natural Ecru colour which is the raw colour of unbleached and undyed Eri silk. It is an organic off-white that varies with each small production batch. The throws are finished with short, twisted tassels typical of the handweaving process.

Our Eri Silk throws are made from fibres obtained from wild silkworms also known as peace silk fibres. In India, this form of silk is referred to as Ahinsa silk meaning non-lethal or non-violent in Sanskrit. While ordinary silk is obtained by boiling the pupae in their cocoons in order to create the yarn, Eri silk is obtained by extracting the yarn after the pupae have grown into adults and abandoned their cacoon, naturally discarding it in their metamorphosis process. This peaceful form of silk production allows the artisans to spin silk without harming the silkworm which is why Eri silk is sometimes also referred to as vegan silk.

Due to the variations in yarn thickness, our Handspun Eri Silk Throws are more textured than our Handspun Cotton Throws which have a slightly more even and uniform appearance. Eri silk is softer and slightly less taught than cotton though both the cotton and silk only become softer with time and use. The final three images show the Handspun Eri Silk and Handspun Cotton throws together with the more even cotton yarn shown in front and the more textured Eri silk yarn shown behind.

Our handspun Eri silk and cotton throws and cushion covers are created by a textiles studio that is the result of a collaboration between Japanese designers and traditional artisanal craftspeople from villages spread across Thailand’s countryside. While the terms ‘silk’ and ‘cotton’ are unifying terms that refer to all fabrics made using these natural materials, handspun yarns come with a great deal of variation as different spinners produce yarns with very different characteristics. Each of the spinners that has collaborated on this project has been selected because of their specific technique that results in high-quality yarns full of natural organic texture. 

Using organic materials local to Thailand, undyed or naturally dyed yarns, and indigenous hand-manufacturing, the textiles studio aims to support and preserve traditional low impact cultivation methods and artisanal handcrafting skills while creating sophisticated textiles that are distinguished by simplicity in form and colour combined with the beauty of handspun natural fabrics.

Size: 92cm x 205cm (please allow for some variation in size).

Materials: Handspun Eri silk and cotton weft.

Handwoven in Thailand.

Our handspun pieces come with all the small unevenness and variations in colour, texture, size and finish that are the embodiment of handmade fabrics. These items will not display the perfect uniformity of factory mass-production and variations from one piece to the next as well as small imperfections are not faults.

Care: Hand wash with mild liquid soap. 

Tip: To see more images of this product use the search field in the top right corner and search 'handspun Eri silk throw'.