a review of Thai Silks and thaisilks.com
Thai Silks is the internationally famous storefront fabric shop in Los Altos, California. If you are fortunate to live near or be visiting the San Francisco area, be sure to allow 1-2 hours so you can drift around this amazing store.
The helpful and knowledgeable staff are all Thai, (when I have been at the shop). Their soft musical voices speaking Thai always add to the pleasure whenever I visit.
They carry over 1400 silk fabrics from China, Korea, Thailand and India. Deanne Morgan Shute, the owner of Thai Silks writes in their print catalog, “By buying direct from foreign loomers we save you from 30%-50% – we have no “in betweens” which add to the cost of your fabrics.”
Thai Silks offers sample collections for bridal, velvets, brocades, prints, closeout samples and “artists” fabrics to help sewers make mail order purchases with confidence.
There is also a silk fabric club. It’s a popular update service with 5 annual mailings showcasing new colors, new prints and ongoing closeout specials.
The catalog is extremely well produced with at least 25 types of silk – Crepe, charmeuse, chiffon, velvet, fleece spun, satin, organza, stretch, tapestry dupioni, shantung, taffeta, noil, raw, matelasse, suit weight, and linen blends. Over 400 individual fabrics are clearly described, for example:
#23C Tripleweave Gauze, 3 layers woven together, 35%silk/65% Rayon, 2 selections, 45”…..$(price)
The homepage for Thai Silk”s website, thaisilks.com is quite basic, and you can easily navigate to the two areas of most interest to sewers, the sales and the fabrics. At both storefronts, you can also find silk lingerie, gift items, scarves, mens’ ties and other items that could be dyed.
Thai Silks has 11 categories of silk prints and the website shows most of their stock. For example, you can select from 149 thumbnail pictures of Florals, 13 Paisleys, 63 Brocades and 65 Handpainted. They also have Black and White, Animal, Modern, Polka Dots, World International and more.
If you haven’t worked with silk in your quilts, why not visit Thai Silks or thaisilks and become inspired by these beautiful fabrics. Silk adds a sense of richness and mystery and visual delight to any sewn project.