Onion-skin Dyed Handspun Eri Silk Cushion Covers
These Assamese Eri silk cushion covers were handwoven for us on traditional pedal looms using Eri silk that was spun by hand. The Eri silk, also known as peace silk, was harvested from the cocoons of the silkworm, collected by hand, after the worms matured into moths and naturally discarded their cocoons.
Reared by tribal people along the Assam-Meghalaya border in North-eastern India, the raw Eri silk is subsequently spun by hand on drop spindles by women of the Kamrup district in Assam. The Eri silk thread is then taken to the homes of KAL weavers (link to blog) in Assam where it is dyed by hand by the team leader Latika using natural dyes made from discarded onion skins collected from the local market. The naturally dyed Eri silk is then woven on traditional pedal looms located in the weaver’s gardens using no electricity in the process before it is sewn into the finished product.
Intentionally designed as a mono-material product without a zipper and finished simply with an envelope closure.
Available in four sizes:
- small rectangle: 30 x 50cm
- rectangle: 40 x 60cm
- square: 50 x 50cm
- large square: 60 x 60cm
Made from pure Eri Silk and handwoven outdoors in a garden in India.
Please note that due to the natural dyes and handmade nature of these cushion covers, variation in colour and size is to be expected and colours may vary from one small batch production to the next. These variations are an inherent part of the hand-making and natural dying process and are not faults in the product.
Care: wash separately in cold water or 30°C on a delicate cycle. Line dry flat in the shade out of direct sunlight and iron the fabric to soften after washing. Naturally dyed colours will fade with time and use but they will bleach out far more quickly if left in direct sunlight.
Cushion cover only, sold without filler. We prefer to use slightly smaller or under-stuffed cushion fillers in order to achieve the look in our photos. The folds in the silk create a loose, relaxed look and show off the fabric and colour more.
Read more about the making process of these cushion covers here.