Our Cotton Journey
Folkcharm’s apparels and lifestyle items are not only kind and fair to the farmers, weavers, makers and the environment, they are more importantly kind to the users. Key features of our products are the pure chemical-free hand-spun cotton yarns, traditional method of handloom weaving and detailed tailoring for optimum gentleness to skin and comfort.
Our yarns are 100% natural chemical free Thai cotton. While maintaining the traditional techniques of hand-processed cotton yarn and hand-weaving, we use Grennet’s Organic Certified Fair trade yarns as warp to strengthen the textile. The weft is locally grown handspun yarns, giving a unique texture and fluff for softness. To create patterns, local natural plant dyes, such as ‘Buak’ indigo, wild ebony seeds, beetle nuts, anatto, barks and tree leaves are used.
It is not just the process of cotton cultivation, yarn-handspinning, botanical dyeing or handweaving that Folkcharm classifies as ‘handmade’. Back in Bangkok, we encourage home-based tailors, seamstresses and craftswomen of various skill levels, expertise and interest to meet Folkcharm’s standards by providing rewarding income, promotion of creativity and flexibility in working. Our items are ‘co-designed’ with the team and is a back-and-forth process until the design and method are satisfactory to both us and the makers.
Every process of the work at our studio is meticulous. Because every roll of our hand-woven fabric is unique, we design and create a very limited number for each collection. Every piece is cut and sewn by individual tailors. All are pre-washed and pre-ironed before they are sold. And because every process is done ‘by hand’ to be perfect is not what we aim for. But it is the uniqueness of each of these works that we enjoy creating, while maintaining quality.
Various roll of fabric are by different farmers and weavers from different villages with various shades of natural dyes, thickness and density. We design each order based on suitable fabric. Thick spins to make jackets and trousers for durability. Thinner textures for blouses and shirts for comfort. These 6 pieces, are to be made into blouses, trousers and suit jackets.