Silk cocoon incubator.
Thailand. Chiang Mai. Silk factory.
1984 slide scan.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silkworm
The silkworms of Thailand are grown primarily on the Korat Plateau in the country's northeast region, although the majority of silk production takes place in the Chiangmai area. The silk thread of Thailand's silkworms is a natural gold color and one cocoon consists of one thread that is often as long as 500 meters. Each thread is too thin to use alone so many threads are combined to make a thicker, more practical fiber. The raw silk threads are washed and bleached before being placed in vats of hot dyes. The result is washed again and stretched before being put through a final dying process. After the final dying and drying, the threads are wound onto drums and sent to weaving shops where the silk cloth is produced.
At some of Chiangmai's silk centers in the Sankhampaeng factory district visitors have an opportunity to watch the process described above with a running commentary by one of the factory's staff. Some of the silk production centers maintain their own mulberry gardens where they grow silkworms, and a visit to one of these includes all aspects of silk production from the cocoon growing stage to the weaving of the finished product. At these, hand operated looms are often used and one weaver produces only four meters of silk cloth in a single day.
Silk cocoon incubator.
Thailand. Chiang Mai. Silk factory.
1984 slide scan.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silkworm
The silkworms of Thailand are grown primarily on the Korat Plateau in the country's northeast region, although the majority of silk production takes place in the Chiangmai area. The silk thread of Thailand's silkworms is a natural gold color and one cocoon consists of one thread that is often as long as 500 meters. Each thread is too thin to use alone so many threads are combined to make a thicker, more practical fiber. The raw silk threads are washed and bleached before being placed in vats of hot dyes. The result is washed again and stretched before being put through a final dying process. After the final dying and drying, the threads are wound onto drums and sent to weaving shops where the silk cloth is produced.
At some of Chiangmai's silk centers in the Sankhampaeng factory district visitors have an opportunity to watch the process described above with a running commentary by one of the factory's staff. Some of the silk production centers maintain their own mulberry gardens where they grow silkworms, and a visit to one of these includes all aspects of silk production from the cocoon growing stage to the weaving of the finished product. At these, hand operated looms are often used and one weaver produces only four meters of silk cloth in a single day.