Ban Saluey is a village specialising in mat-mii (ikat), where the threads are tied before dyeing, and then those patterned threads are lined up carefully as they are woven to reveal the pattern again. Although I love Mat-mii, the work in this village was relatively crude compared to some I have seen in Lao and especially in Chonabot in north-eastern Thailand, and they were using quite gaudy chemical dyes, so I only bought 1 piece.

Winding weft ready to tie with patterns

Tying weft to resist dye

Tied weft ready to dye

Dyed weft, partly untied

Weft dyed in pattern

More dyed wefts drying

Weft ready to wind onto bobbins

Warp preparation

Patterned weft on bobbin in shuttle. This fabric has weft mat-mii and supplementary warp patterning

Supplementary warp threads raised

Heddles

Looms under houses