Mandalay area: Acheik

Weavers in the Mandalay area specialise in acheik, sometimes called lun taya acheik, meaning 100-shuttle design. While not always using 100 shuttles, there were certainly plenty!

There are so many shuttles, that two or even three women sit side by side to share the weaving. Even with two to share the work, I was told it takes a month to weave one longyi, or wrapped skirt, which is 2 yards long.

Acheik is traditionally worn by both men and women as a longyi, although it is increasingly tailored into formal western-style fashions:

The predominantly wave designs are created in silk with a tapestry weave, and the weavers see the back of the fabric. Here is the underside, or right side…

…and the weavers’ view of the wrong side of the fabric:

This factory sources their silk from both Myanmar and China, using whichever yarn they have in the colour they want.

I stopped in at a shop so browse and was overwhelmed by the number and variety of intricate designs on offer.

 

See how acheik is woven at Acheik Technique