When we visited Assam in 2008 we brought back some eri silk to do natural dyes tests. Here is what we got and how we got it.



0) Natural colour of eri silk
1) Alum 15% Cutch 50%
2) Alum 15%, Marigold 20%, Madder 20%,
3) Alum 15%, Marigold 20%, Madder 100%
4) Alum 15%, Madder 200%
5) Alum 15%, Madder 100%, Iron 2%
6) Alum 15%. Lac 50%,
7) Alum 15%, Lac 50%, Iron 2%
8) Alum 15%, Lac residue
9) Alum 15%, Cutch 50% Iron 2%
10) Natural Indigo 1 dip
11) Natural Indigo 4 dips
12) Natural Indigo 8 dips
13) Marigold 20% Natural indigo 4 dips
14) Alum 15% Marigold 20% Iron 2%
15) Alum 15% Henna 50%
16) Alum 15% Marigold 20%

If you click on the photo above you can see a larger version. Information about the dyes we used can be found on our natural dye pages. Alum and Iron can be found in the mordants section. The percentages specified indicates that we added that percentage of the weight of the fiber to be dyed (when dry). So, if we had 100 grams of silk, and we mordanted with alum at 15% then we used 15 grams of alum. If we dyed with lac at 50% then for 100 grams of silk we used 50 grams of lac.

We love eri silk and were very happy with the results. The silk didn't loose its luster in the dye process, the yarns didn't felt up, and no special procedures were needed for the eri silk. Here are some very close up images of the fiber: natural, marigold 20%, and marigold 20% + Madder 100%. Again, click on the photo for a larger verion. You can see that the actual fibers that make up the yarns are very very fine.





We know that some people raise eri silk moths in North America and in other parts of the world. Hit us in the comments section with your experience dyeing the fiber.

Assam: Land of the Golden Silk - Part 7
(Our 2008 visit to Assam in search of three types of silk.)






An adult eri moth resting on netting and some of the cocoons. On the day we visited the eri silk farmers we also drove to a village where every home seemed to be set up to spin and weave. It was here in rural Assam that we learned the most about silk production, and here also that we took some of our best photos. Assam, the people, the landscape, and the skillful transformation of silk to textiles; it was all very beautiful and we felt very privileged to be able to experience it.





We really got the sense that everyone knew silk and had an opinion about it. Even our armed escort took an active interest in the cloth. We bartered for some of the lengths that were, in our opinion very well made - tightly woven and well spun and we made certain to get a selection of the spun silk that we could use for natural dye testing. We were very excited to see how it would take the dyes. If it worked well there was a possibility that natural dyes could be reintroduced to the local textiles.

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Assam: Land of the Golden Silk - Part 6
(Our 2008 visit to Assam in search of three types of silk.)



We've been lucky in Assam. Chandan has found us a number of locations where the Eri moth is in different stages of its development. This has all been arranged by him, but as we pull into a compound or drive down a village street, we have no idea what we are going to find. Previously we encountered the eggs - just at the point of hatching. Now we've been shown the caterpillars in their final stages as they are about to spin. The worms pictured here are happily munching on a collection of castor leaves. Some of them have a faint blue tint. We're guessing that the colour difference is between male and female. For full details of the Eri lifecycle we recommend Michael Cook's well illustrated photo essay.

These worms were kept in the most simple conditions. A woven basket held an inverted collection of branches tied together at the stem. It made a substantial collection of food that would last a few days.

And finally we saw the adults. The one shown at the top of the post has been out of the cocoon about twenty-four hours. These moths (like all moths) generally don't live long in the adult stage, only a few days. As adults their sole drive is to emerge from the cocoon, mate and lay eggs.




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Assam: Land of the Golden Silk - Part 5
(Our 2008 visit to Assam in search of three types of silk.)

At the close of our first day in Assam we are very very tired. The combination of jet lag, tropical weather, the excitement and newness of everything has worn us out. Returning to our simple guest house we are asked what we want to eat. Ever prudent we select what we think is the healthiest (in terms of traveller’s food safety) simplest, an most importantly, quickest meal. A boiled egg. “No problem. No Problem. Right away.” We would have lost consciousness instantly but we stayed away to receive our humble supper. Two hours later the boiled egg arrived. With two pieces of white bread. I suspect the thoughtful addition of western style white bread was the time snag and I imagine young boys being sent running through the village to get shop keepers to open their stalls until some is found.

Eggs are also where we start with the Eri moth. The eggs are so tiny they are hard to show clearly. But if you look closely you can see the small holes where they have exited. Eri hatchlings in Assam.





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Assam: Land of the Golden Silk - Part 4
(Our 2008 visit to Assam in search of three types of silk.)



When we were getting ready to visit Assam we pulled out our boxes of slides and photographs and reviewed what we learned in Orissa ten years ago. We found eri then, including the marvelous specimen at the top of the page. Unlike tussar, eri is fully domesticated. To understand why eri is so special we need to talk a little about the process of reeling silk. The process is fairly strightforward. The cocoons are placed in warm water to loosen the gum (sericin) that holds the filaments together. One strand of silk is incredibly thin and would be too weak for most textiles, so the filaments from several cocoons are combined. As they are reeled the sericin acts to bind the multiple filaments into a single thread.

When the adult moth emerges from a cocoon it needs to make a hole to get out. The cocoons from which adults emerge are known as "pierced" because of this hole. The hole cuts so many of the fibers that the silk from pierced cocoons cannot be reeled. The silk is still used, but it is spun like cotton or wool and forms a lower grade of silk.

Eri is unusual in that it is never reeled. The fibers in the coccoon are like a tiny bale of cotton, all wound together and tangled. So instead eri silk is spun and this gives it a very unusual quality. Depending on how it is spun and woven it can give a very woolly result - and as with poorly made wools, eri can pill like cheap acrylic. But it can also give a tight strong fiber like linen. This is what makes eri textiles amazing - they can have the drape and weight of linen but are warm and insulating like cotton or wool.

Because eri silk is spun and not reeled it is not necessary to "stifle" or kill the pupa. You can let the moth emerge to mate and lay eggs - or you can eat it for supper. In eastern India eri was (and still is) raised as a source of protein with the silk being a very useful by product.

"Ericulture is a small scale industry in all the three stages; such as, rearing, spinning and weaving, the rearers growing a patch of castor (Ricinus communis) or ‘Kesseru’ (Hereropanax fragrans) plants in their hutments for making use of the leaves for rearing the worms for production of cocoon that is spun into yarn – the yarn woven into cloth by themselves for personal use. Most important however is the chrisalid which is devoured avidly. In fact, eri cocoon is considered a by-product, so also the castor seed. Castor plant is mainly used in other parts of India for production of seed which as a valuable material; but in N.E. region because of its profuse vegative growth and poor yield of seeds, the leaves are utilized for production of eri cocoon only." - Chowdahury 1991.

When we visited Orissa, we noticed that the eri were placed on special baskets when they were getting ready to spin. The basketry provided a perfect environment and permitted easy collection of the silk. Here you can see many cocoons and recently emerged moths.



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Assam: Land of the Golden Silk - Part 3
(Our 2008 visit to Assam in search of three types of silk.)

We are strangers in Assam. So our first official obligation once we have driven off with Chandan (our contact) is to visit the local constabulary. The ritual of the host is very important in India. It is just as important (or maybe more so) at the police headquarters. We are given tea and biscuits and asked about our "program." We are welcomed, then left alone in a room while calls are made. Eventually we are permitted to continue with an armed escort of two officers. News of the morning's events in Guwahati has travelled quickly. We are told to keep a low profile and not to visit any public markets.

The first stop is to see some tussar moths. We leave the road and walk through a family compound. Entering a brick building through a screen door we are met with the humid damp air one usually finds in greenhouses. Rich and slightly cloying. On a table of cut branches, large tussar caterpillars are happily munching away at the green leaves. They are a bright green and slightly translucent. They are always either eating or resting. That is the life of a caterpillar.




In the back of the first room is a line of spun cocoons.



And in a second room are the adults. The moths rest on an egg stick. The females wear a harness of thread that keeps them from flying away. The males are free to visit the females and if they do, it is referred to as "pairing". The moths are tended constantly and in our photo you can see the cot which has been set up under a protective sheet. The pairing takes place by the end of abdomen.




Perhaps tussar can be domesticated. We didn't witness egg hatching or the earlier instars of the insect, but it seemed that it might possible to fully manage a brood inside. Reports that tussar cannot be domesticated go back quite far. In 1796, Michael Atkinson, stationed in Bengal, wrote a letter that became part of Dr. William Roxburgh's 1802 presentation to the Linnean Society. The letter reads:

"This species cannot be domesticated. I am informed that the natives cannot even retain any of it for seed. The hill people say that they go into jungles, and under the Byer and Asseen trees they find the excrement of the insect; on which they examine the tree, and, on discovering the small worms, they cut off branches of the tree sufficient for their purpose, with the young brood on the branches; these they carry to convenient situations near their houses, and distribute the branches on the Asseen tree in proportion to the size thereof, but they put none on the Byer tree. The Parieahs, or hill people, guard the insects night and day while in the worm state, to preserve them from crows and other birds by day, and from bats by night.

" I myself have seen them thus watching the brood. This species cannot be confined, for so soon as the moth pierces the cocoon it gets away; and the people add, that it is impossible to keep it, by any precaution whatever."

It may be that this one observation has been quoted many times. Dr. John Feltwell (mentioned in the previous post) cites it. Once we learned more about the life of the moth, the last paragraph seemed somewhat dubious. For two reasons: firstly, the adult moths emerge from the cocoon with wings like wet tissue paper. It takes time, sometimes hours, for the insect to pump fluid into the wings to fully expand them. Secondly, the sheer size of these moths would make them easily kept by even rudimentary netting. They are such a beautiful moth that it would be an honour to be a tussar keeper.

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Assam: Land of the Golden Silk - Part 2

(Our 2008 visit to Assam in search of three types of silk)

In India it comes from Antheraea mylitta. We've gone with the spelling "Tussar" but you'll also find Tussah, Tusseh, Tasar, Tussore, Tusser etc. Dr. John Feltwell in his book The Story of Silk (1990) tells us that "Tusseh is the Hindustani for shuttle" and suggests that trade in Tussar silk may predate that of Bombyx. Tussar is also found in China, Antheraea peryyni , and Japan Antheraea yamamai . It is sometimes known as oak silk or oak tussar after its favourite food.

The moths are, quite simply, beautiful. They have a 15 cm wingspan and the eye-spots are clear (which is very unusual and hard to show in a photo). These pictures were the first we took in Assam. We enquired into the life cycle of the insect as we keep finding statements about the unsuitability of Tussah for domestication in books and we wanted to know first hand why this was so. For example, in our library we have a thin volume titled simply Silk from Macclesfield, Cheshire, written by Peter Gaddum in 1947. It states:

"In the early part of the season cocoons are collected from the jungle and eggs from the moths that emerge are gummed on long strips of paper, which are then hung on suitable trees, where they hatch quite naturally. A barrier of some sort is coiled around the trunks to prevent the caterpillars from wandering and here they collect when a tree has been stripped of foliage, to be removed to another by the peasants. During the larval stage, which occupies up to seven weeks, guard is kept against the insect's natural enemies such as bats, birds and beetles, and on completion the cocoons are harvested like fruit."

And indeed, this is exactly what we had found when we visited Orissa in 1999.

The cocoons are not like those of other silk moths, they are almost like eggshells and they have a very distinct stem where the cocoon is attached to the branch. The cocoons would be the size of a very small chicken egg, maybe the size of a quail egg. Each one is a slightly different colour depending on what the insect ate. Some are light green, others are yellow, some are grey and others almost white. The dyers among us will appreciate that the shades of the cocoons (the silk) are the result of tannins in the leaves ingested by the larvae.

When we looked into the cultivation of Tussah in Assam we found something a little different from what we found in Orissa ...

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Introduction

The nature of our work takes us far away from our Vancouver home. But we are enthusiastic travellers, taken by the pleasures of life on the road, by the very real need we feel for research and documentation, by our meetings with extraordinary artisans and cultures, and by the purpose given to our lives by these quests that we have set for ourselves. At times like this we wish we had the ability to speak in the voices of some of the great travel writers. We would like to be able to convey the subtle details of what we have seen; to be able to more fully convey the character of some of the people we have met; and most importantly, to be able to take you the reader along with us.

At the close of 2008 we went on a research trip to India, Cambodia and Mexico. It is always surprising to us how quickly the fruits of our travels are shared. In India we started in Assam with research into Muga and other wild silks. The visit led directly to the natural dye workshop held in February 2009. We also visited the fields and facilities used to farm organic cotton in order to see first-hand where our cotton was from. In Cambodia we met for the first time Mr. Morimoto - who established the Institute for Khmer Traditional Textiles (IKTT) and was a presenter at the 2009 Symposium. In Mexico we laid the groundwork for a group visit. In addition we re-established connections with artisans working with caracol and cochineal. For the first time we visited dyers, weavers and artisans working in the Chiapas region. We were so impressed we could hardly wait to get back.

With the Symposium wrapped up and the year drawing to a close we are preparing a series of posts to share the details of our 2008 trip. Now, a year later, we can see how all the decisions we made on that trip have played out.

Maiwa 2008 Research Trip
(If you start with the first one, they are linked in order.)

Assam: Land of the Golden Silk
Looking for Three Silks
Tussar Silk in Orissa
Tussar Silk in Assam

The new issue has just hit the stands and we are proud to be part of it. This issue contains the story of our journey to Assam in the fall of 2008 that led to the Maiwa Foundation teaching a natural dye workshop in 2009.

Wild Fibers has a mission: " to educate and promote all aspects of the natural fiber industry with special emphasis on sustainable practices and responsible use of natural resources throughout the world. We believe fibers represent an important chapter not only to artisans and cultural development, but an increasing sensitivity to environmental impact as well."

Featuring beautiful photography from around the world, wild fibers is a showcase of animal husbandry, culture and cloth. It is the project of intrepid traveller and fiber enthusiast Linda Cortright.

This fall Linda will be present in Vancouver as part of the Maiwa Textile Symposium. This is a rare opportunity to meet Linda (she is often in rural areas gathering stories for Wild Fibers). Join us on Thursday October 22 for the lecture Wild Fibers.

Today we dye with indigo. As usual it is a magical and transforming experience. And as usual everything that can be put into a dyevat is usually blue by the end of the day. This is the moment when the students who may have been hanging back come forward and get fully involved. There is no resisting the pull of the blue pot. This is our last dye and when the last hanks are overdyed with indigo our palette is complete.

When overdyeing the yarns are only rinsed. But now, after the final colour they receive a thorough cleaning. As with washing in Morocco there is some hesitation at this stage. There is a real fear that the colour they have worked so hard to get will all go down the drain.

The finished yarns are divided into sets so that each student can leave with a full set of sample yarns. This is very important. If they are to be able to match colours they will need these samples so that they have a clear visual indicator - both of what has been done and what can be done.

There are certificates to handed out to the students. They are signed by Charllotte, Chandan, and Dr. Dipali Devi. Dr. Devi, a sericulturalist with IASST (the Institute of Advanced Scientific Study and Technology, Guwahati) assisted in the organization of this workshop and showed a keen interest in natural dye techniques. We are hopeful that as a representative of such a prestigious institution she can continue the necessary work of disseminating information to artisans.

As the students check the recipes against the sample yarns the questions begin. Now is the time when we find out how much they have understood. Tricky concepts like weight of fiber (or WOF an essential measure of dye concentration based on a percentage of the weight of material to be dyed) are repeated. The students are very happy, and feel very satisfied with their new knowledge. They have accomplished a great amount in three short days and we are proud of them and to be working in Assam.

We are always a little worried as the second day begins. Will the artisans return? Working in different languages makes it difficult to know how much has been understood, and there are substantial pressures on these artisans for their time. When we planned the workshop we wanted to begin at nine and end at five. In discussions with Chandan, he thought that we could not ask this - they would not show up. At the end of the first day we decided to push a little. "Who can be here early tomorrow morning? We want to start at nine AM." Every hand went up. When we arrived at eight AM to set-up they were waiting for us.

On the second day we begin with what we call the singular dyes. For this workshop these will be lac, madder, pomegranate, marigold and myrobalan. These dyes will each give their own colour and additional colours will be made by overdyeing the first colour with a second dye. So for example, we start with madder on its own and to this we will add madder overdyed with pomegranate, madder overdyed only with lac, madder overdyed first with lac and then with pomegranate and so on. This simple idea is a bit tricky to oversee. The temptation to put all the yarn into the second dyepot, and not hold any back for the first colour, is very strong.

There are about forty students and they split into eight groups. Most are weavers and they all have a tremendous facility with handling the silks. It is really quite extraordinary to watch. A tangle that would take us several hours to negotiate seems to be resolved by them with a few deft flicks of the wrist.

The group is keen and they are "with" us. Still, there are several opportunities for the works to slide off the rails. Charllotte (who as a sign of respect is referred to simply as "Madam") moves from group to group helping and troubleshooting. The task falls mainly to Shirley then to make certain that no one wanders off. A simple thing (like small groups of people chatting) can spell disaster for a workshop. In any culture there is a hierarchy of who does the work and who does not do the work. If individuals stop working to talk it is divisive and almost instantly all the men will also stop. This is especially true if others from the village are watching. We have the advantage in these situations of being teachers, foreigners, and guests. We are from outside the culture and so we insist on a simple rule. You cannot be sitting if Madam is not sitting.

At the end of the second day we have bamboo poles hung with dyed silk. We have worked a long day and the sun has slipped away before the hanks are completely dry. These yarns are so valuable that the artisans will not leave while they are still outside. Only when the silks have been brought inside for the night do they feel comfortable in starting home.



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On the morning of the first day the students arrive. Everyone who is registered for the course receives an apron. This is mainly so we can identify the students and distinguish between the students and interested onlookers. The students will participate; but everyone in the village – down to the local dhaba cook is welcome to observe. A village can contain an almost palpable curiosity and the easiest way to manage this and prevent the spread of misinformation is simply to let everyone in.

Our man in Assam – Chandan Keshab, has done an excellent job of finding the right people to take the workshop: individuals who are motivated, have a familiarity with the fibers and can put the knowledge to good practical use and, hopefully, even pass it on to others. This workshop represents a huge commitment on the part of the artisans. They must leave their obligations behind for many days in order to attend. The closest student had only to walk across the lane to arrive at the workshop. The most distant had travelled for sixteen hours to be here.

The day opens with an introduction by Charllotte (with Chandan translating). Then the students will proceed to scour and mordant the silks. It is a huge anti-climax. As any dyer knows scouring and mordanting are very important – you can’t really dye without completing these first steps. But neither one involves any colour. So after a hard days work you have a line hung with very clean, but uninteresting yarns.

This is the point where we may loose students. We must be as animated as possible. Fortunately our demo table is covered in very colourful yarns – otherwise they doubt that any colour will happen. The next day we start what they have all been waiting for - we start putting colour on silk.



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We arrived in Assam in the morning. For this workshop our team consists of two: Charllotte and Shirley. It is an exciting time and we are anxious to see the dyeing set-up. The jeep heads in the opposite direction however, where a substantial opening reception and official welcome has been prepared. There are politicians, university professors, and local dignitaries. There are speeches, and photos. There are no weavers, spinners, or artisans. While unexpected it was not a surprise; trying not to appear ingracious what we really want to do is get to the village and see the pots. The university had anticipated that we would spend the entire day with them and found it a little hard to believe that the village had organized a complete workshop with foreign experts. For us the most important objective was to get the knowledge into the hands of the village.

As exciting as speeches were, we were not to be waylaid. And so ... to the village. Here it quickly became evident that the signs were good (see the above photo) but the dyeing resources we had asked to be assembled were nowhere to be found. What they knew was yarn and the yarn was ready. The most beautiful piles of exotic threads, prepared and waiting. But no pots, no dyes, no fires, and no drying lines.

One of the great advantages of India is how quickly a large team of people can materialize out of nowhere. Soon we had people digging pits for fires, assembling piles of fuel, collecting buckets and most importantly pots. We don't know what they used to cook with all week because we soon had each and every large pot in the village.

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Returning to Canada after having committed to a natural dye workshop in Assam, we had to unpack our samples of silks and see if they could be dyed successfully.

When we were in Assam we tried our best to gather local knowledge about silk dyeing. Popular opinion is that the local silks cannot be dyed.

Our concerns with testing are with the fineness of the muga - the reeled silk is exceptionally thin. And we do not want the muga to loose it's sheen when it completes the dye process. Muga is also spun and pot-reeled (mainly from the imperfect cocoons and the ones from which the adult moths have emerged). Some of the yarns have a "slub" and they might take the dye unevenly. The Eri, which is spun and behaves more like cotton, has a tendency to pill. We are worried that it will felt or become hopelessly tangled when it enters the dyebath.

Much to our satisfaction, the tests are successful. We experiment with a range of mordanting strengths using two forms of Alum: Potassium aluminum sulphate and alum acetate. Those of you who wandered into the Maiwa Supply store in December of 2008 would have been fortunate enough to see the tests being done.


We test with a selection of natural dyes that can be found in Assam or within India in nearby states. Our intention is that artisans be self sufficient, which raises a curious point. We sell natural dyes that we import from Assam. But the artisans don't know what dyes are local or where to get them. So, in addition to a complete set of recipes for mordants, dyes and the best colour on silks we prepare a list of local dyes and where to get them in Assam or neighbouring states. This information all goes into the student books which we prepare. The books also show artisans working with dyes on the village level in other countries all over the world. It is important that the artisans not feel they are working alone or in isolation trying to master strange techniques. Moreover, most of the dye knowledge contained in the book has originally come from artisans: in a way we are giving them back their own knowledge.

We now have a sample set of silk dyed a range of colours; firsthand knowledge of how the fibers behave under dyeing conditions; student books ready with mordant recipes, dye recipes, and dye information. We are feeling prepared and ready to go.

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Testing the Silks
The Day Before the Workshop
Day One
Day Two
Day Three



In the autumn of 2008 we travelled to Assam, India to research wild silk fibers: Tussar, Eri, and the rare and prised golden Muga. The story of that trip is due to appear in the Fall 2009 issue of Wild Fibers Magazine so we can't say too much about it here ... yet. What we can tell you is that during our groundwork we noticed a keen enthusiasm by the artisans to combine the wonderful appeal of wild silks with colours derived from natural dyes.

Before leaving Assam we had laid the foundations for a natural dye workshop. The classes would be conducted soon, on Charllotte's next trip back in February 2009. We returned to Canada with enough silk to do a substantial battery of tests. Would the silk take dyes effectively? For the artisan dyer there is perhaps no greater pleasure than putting a new fiber in a dyevat. We couldn't wait to get started.

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