Eri Peace Silk Muffler | natural dye turmeric & indigo
A narrow muffler perfect for tucking deep into the collar of a coat or for warmer weather. Contrast selvedge & hand-twisted fringe add detailing to this incredibly soft muffler.
- Size 10" X 73”
- Hand-twisted fringe
- Crafted by a not for profit community nestled in Kumaon, in the foothills of the Himalayas, in home spun & hand woven eri peace silk, yarn dyed in exclusively natural colours including indigo, lac, Eupatorium and marigold.
- All orders come lovingly packed in upcycled silk bags
Conventional silk is produced by boiling silk worms alive in their cocoons, killing some 6,000 worms to produce 1 kg of silk. Peace silk, also known as ahimsa or non-violent silk, is a sustainable & ethical approach to silk production which does not involve harming or killing the silk worm.
Once the moths have hatched the cocoon, the cocoons are collected by silk farmers, then spun & woven by hand. A cottage industry, the production of peace silk supports a wide & varied eco-system of women & men farmers, spinners, weavers, printers & dyers.
Silk spun & woven in this way retains properties lost during conventional methods of silk production. As a spun silk, peace silk is less lustrous than conventional silk, but is incredibly soft and has a rich, slubbed texture & an incredible drape. Because of the air pockets retained in the yarn, it retains warmth in winter & breathes in the heat so is comfortable to wear year round.
Ajrakh is an ancient form of hand block mordant printing & resist dyeing using exclusively natural dyes, like indigo & madder, and natural mordants. The process is extremely laborious & complex, and practiced by master artisans only in Western India & Eastern Pakistan.
Following the design of the pattern, wooden blocks are carved by hand. The cloth is then hand printed through a series of around 15 steps, dictated by the specific chemical reactions of each individual natural dye, resist & mordant.
Any variations or irregularities are to be celebrated. They are part of the design & inherent to the handcrafted production process, making this item beautifully unique.
- Fabric: 100% eri silk
- Handfeel: Mid-heavy weight silk, very soft & richly slubbed with a beautiful drape. Handfeel a little like fine wool, but without the scratch.
- Care: Natural colours are living colours and change over time. Darker colours may bleed & rub at first. Gentle hand wash separately in cold water using pH neutral detergent. Do not use conditioner. Do not soak. Colours may bleed, especially in in the beginning. Gentle steam iron. Drip dry flat in the shade. Store in the dark.
- Origin: Assam, India
