Skip to content

WELCOME TO OUR STORE

SUPPORT OUR WORK

  • HOME
  • MAGAZINE
    • CURRENT ISSUE
    • ALL ISSUES
    • FIND SELVEDGE
    • ORDER FAQS
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • FOR YOURSELF
    • FOR SOMEONE ELSE
    • FOR STUDENTS
    • FOR AN INSTITUTION
    • SUBSCRIBER FAQS
    • SUBSCRIBER ACCESS
  • STORIES
  • SHOP
    • SELVEDGE GOODS
    • SELVEDGE TOTES
    • ARTISAN GOODS
      • ALL
      • CLOTHING
      • INTERIORS
      • ACCESSORIES
      • TOYS
      • YARDAGE
      • EXPLORE ARTISANS
      • ACCESS TALKS
    • MAGAZINES
    • BOOKS
    • ORDER FAQs
  • LEARN
    • BOOK A WORKSHOP
    • LISTEN TO A TALK
    • MEET THE MAKER
    • SLOW TV
    • TRAVEL WITH US
  • EVENTS
    • MAKERS FAIR, BATH
    • WINTER FAIR
    • TEXTILE MONTH
    • SELVEDGE TOURS
    • EVENT FAQS
  • COMMUNITY
    • JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
    • LISTEN TO A PODCAST
    • SELVEDGE OPEN STUDIO
    • VISIT A TEXTILE COLLECTION
    • SEE AN EXHIBITION
    • ENTER A PRIZE DRAW
    • MAKE A PROJECT
  • COLLABORATE
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
    • WORK WITH US
    • WRITE FOR US
    • WRITE FOR THE BLOG
    • BECOME A STOCKIST
  • OUR STORY
    • READ OUR STORY
    • GET TO KNOW US
    • READ ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
Log in
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Vimeo
Selvedge Magazine
  • HOME
  • MAGAZINE
    • CURRENT ISSUE
    • ALL ISSUES
    • FIND SELVEDGE
    • ORDER FAQS
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • FOR YOURSELF
    • FOR SOMEONE ELSE
    • FOR STUDENTS
    • FOR AN INSTITUTION
    • SUBSCRIBER FAQS
    • SUBSCRIBER ACCESS
  • STORIES
  • SHOP
    • SELVEDGE GOODS
    • SELVEDGE TOTES
    • ARTISAN GOODS
      • ALL
      • CLOTHING
      • INTERIORS
      • ACCESSORIES
      • TOYS
      • YARDAGE
      • EXPLORE ARTISANS
      • ACCESS TALKS
    • MAGAZINES
    • BOOKS
    • ORDER FAQs
  • LEARN
    • BOOK A WORKSHOP
    • LISTEN TO A TALK
    • MEET THE MAKER
    • SLOW TV
    • TRAVEL WITH US
  • EVENTS
    • MAKERS FAIR, BATH
    • WINTER FAIR
    • TEXTILE MONTH
    • SELVEDGE TOURS
    • EVENT FAQS
  • COMMUNITY
    • JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
    • LISTEN TO A PODCAST
    • SELVEDGE OPEN STUDIO
    • VISIT A TEXTILE COLLECTION
    • SEE AN EXHIBITION
    • ENTER A PRIZE DRAW
    • MAKE A PROJECT
  • COLLABORATE
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
    • WORK WITH US
    • WRITE FOR US
    • WRITE FOR THE BLOG
    • BECOME A STOCKIST
  • OUR STORY
    • READ OUR STORY
    • GET TO KNOW US
    • READ ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
Log in Cart

Item added to your cart

Access Denied
IMPORTANT! If you’re a store owner, please make sure you have Customer accounts enabled in your Store Admin, as you have customer based locks set up with EasyLockdown app. Enable Customer Accounts
Chinese Mud Silk

Chinese Mud Silk

April 22, 2020
Share

Image courtesy Noir-Handmade.

Our latest issue, 94, the Earth Issue is now available to buy. In this issue, we celebrate the soil. We marvel at the domestication of root systems on a miniature scale and a giant scale in the living root bridges of the Khasis, India. We enjoy Nathalie Seiller Dejean’s mastery of the ancient art of straw work and Eliurpi’s stylish straw hats. And we are inspired by the artisans from the Guangdong Province of China who use mud from the river to dye their famed Mud Silk. Marcella Echavarria, founder of Noir Handmade, writes about the labour-intensive production process necessary to create this special fabric. 

Image courtesy Noir-Handmade.

Season specific, production only occurs between March and November in Canton. Climate change has had a direct impact on this cultural practice for two reasons: changes in the iron content of the river due to pollution and changes in the seasons making it difficult for artisans to plan and respond to weather conditions. The stages of production include repeated dyeing and sun-drying.

Noir, a label devoted to mud-silk, is a personal project for Marcella. It combines her interest in preserving heritage textile techniques with her love of design, and passion for the beautiful and well-made. Noir presents editions of mud-silk garments once in a while, according to the availability of the fabric and the different hues that the Pearl river creates each year. With no seasons and using only a single size, Noir’s pieces are made to layer, mix and match. We are pleased to sell items from Marcella’s clothing collection in our Artisan Goods shop; we have garments made from mud silk including a blouse, a kimono-style jacket, a short jacket and tunics.

Image courtesy Noir-Handmade.

For more information, visit our shop and buy Issue 94 here.

 

Back to blog

3 comments

Loved watching this, as I’d heard about Kimono fabric being dyed this way. Hope the people employed in this process receive a fair price for their labours in producing this wonderfully coloured fabric. Following your suggestions for projects at home during lockdown I had a go at dyeing with Rhubarb leaves from my garden … it works… amazing colour .. thankyou!

Janice BeaumontMay 5, 2020

It is interesting to learn the mud silk is being made in such quantities today. Anyone interested in mud silk might like to read my research on mud silk in the 1920s: “Mud Silk and the Chinese Laundress: From the South China Silk Industry to Mud Silk Suits in Maine.” Vol.1 Textile History, 2014.

Jacqueline Field on April 28, 2020April 28, 2020

Thank you for making this video documenting this fascinating textile process. It is inspiring and educational and gives us all a respect for the use of natural materials in an innovative – although traditional – way to create these beautiful textiles.

Jo Ann StabbApril 28, 2020

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.

Invalid password
Enter

Quick links

  • SEARCH
  • ABOUT US
  • T&Cs
  • FAQs
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Subscribe to our newsletter by entering your email address below. "I just wanted to say how much I admire your informative and inspirational newsletters - I always look forward to them!" Tricia, San Rafael, USA

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Vimeo
Payment methods
  • American Express
  • Apple Pay
  • Diners Club
  • Discover
  • Google Pay
  • Maestro
  • Mastercard
  • Shop Pay
  • Union Pay
  • Visa
© 2025, Selvedge Magazine Powered by Shopify
  • Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.