Adventures in Bangkok

Just returned from a week in Bangkok, Thailand!  Although I was there for work, I found time to be a tourist on the evenings and weekend.  

I have heard Bangkok described as "Southeast Asia for Beginners," a description with which I wholeheartedly agree.  As a large city (9 million) in a relatively industrialized nation, Bangkok has all the Western creature comforts + fabulous infrastructure. But it still has a bit of Southeast Asia sensory overload!


Silk & Fabric Shopping

Jim Thompson House

Spirit House at Jim Thompson.  Spirit Houses are a part of animist culture. 

The Jim Thompson House Museum is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Bangkok.  Jim Thompson is widely credited for reviving the Thai silk industry in the mid 20th century. His home, which is now a museum, was designed to his specifications as a hybrid of the traditional Thai wood house + some Western comforts like an indoor staircase.  In traditional Thai homes, the staircase is on the exterior.

The museum is accessible by guided tour only and largely focuses on the enigmatic man himself, with a little bit of detail on the silk making process.



What I learned about silk-making:  Thai silk is made with yellow cocoons which creates an uneven slob with gold hues.  The process of unwinding the silk cocoons to make filament is laborious.  The filament of the cocoon is too fine for commercial use, so 3-10 filaments must be separately unwound before being reeled together to produce the desired diameter.  The unwinding process takes place over a pot of boiling water.  The water softens the sticky gum on the silk, making it easier to unwind.

Many tailor shops/gift shops sell silk yardage.  I purchased printed silk at Cotton House and the Jim Thompson outlet, as well as a Thai cotton from a silver shop on Chareon Krung Road.

The Jim Thompson Outlet is the only JT store that sells fabric yardage in addition to housewares and accessories.  There are 4 floors and it is worth the trip a bit out of the main tourist area.


                           

Housewares at the JT Outlet; Prices were slightly better than the JT retail shops

I had the pleasure of meeting up with Meg of Cookin' and Craftin' for fabric shopping and a lovely dinner.  We met at Hieng Yoo Huat which is located right next to the Asoke BTS stop.  Though small, the selection was very good and I would have purchased if I didn't already have "stash guilt."  Meg also took me to a tiny button shop around the corner where I purchased machine needles for a fraction of the price in the US.

Tailoring

In 2012, I had two dresses expertly made at Cotton House. This trip I wanted to try a new tailor to copy a much loved dress purchased in the south of France several years ago.  On the hotel's recommendation, I made an appointment at Peninsula Tailors but left the store within a few minutes after they quoted me TBH 8000 (approximately USD $235) to make the dress with the Anna Sui fabric I had in tow.

I headed back to Cotton House to get a competing quote.  The owner, Mrs. Reed, offered me coffee and kao tom mud and agreed to do the job for TBH 3000 (approximately USD $80).  Completed in 36 hours, the dress is a perfect copy.

Cotton House: Inside the Retail Shop

The workshop is around the corner from the retail shop and also houses overflow fabric

The copy dress in Anna Sui on the left; Original dress on the right

While I am no expert on custom clothes, I have learned a few things from my experience with Cotton House and Hoa Fashion (in Hanoi and blogged here) as well as the stories I have heard from colleagues in the region:

• Most tailors primarily work in men's suiting.  If you want to have women's clothes made, ask in advance.  
• Always look to see if the tailor has their own workers located close to the retail shop.  Most tailor shops send out all the work to a "sweat shop" in a lower rent area and any alterations, no matter how minor, will take a half day or more.  Both Cotton House and Hoa had their own staff on site and made alterations quickly as a result.
• I had very little success in bargaining at Cotton House and Hoa.  Although no prices are listed, both tailor houses did actual calculations before providing a quote.
• If you want to bring your own fabric, ask the tailor in advance.  While Hoa and Cotton House were willing to work with my fabric, many other stores will not.  In particular, the tailor houses for menswear.  

Food

The best street food I had this trip was Burmese.  Burmese food has strong Indian influences.  It tastes and feels very different from Thai/Vietnamese food.

On the panga headed to Mona's

                           

Mona's is located in the Phra khanong market close to the clothing section.  It's your typical street food joint with plastic chairs, folding tables, and no menu.  Finding this place was sheer luck and involved no less than 10 people, a high speed panga down the canals, taxi, a translation app,  a random guy on a motor scooter that scouted the market for us without finding Mona's, and a hefty bit of profiling when I saw a woman wearing a headscarf and correctly assumed that we were close to the Burmese section of the market. (Although Myanmar is predominantly Buddhist, I believe the Burmese in the Phra Khanong market are Rohingya muslims.)  Mona served mohinga, a traditional breakfast fish soup,  and my favorite khao swe thoak, rice noodles with peanuts, tomato sauce.  Here is a great video and interview with Mona.

Directions to Mona's :  Take the BTS sky train to Phra Khanong.  Exit the station and make a right on Sukhumvit Soi 71.  Continue until you see this street sign on the right side of the street.

Make a right at this street sign off of Sukhumvit Soi 71

There is a gold jewelry store on the corner.  Continue down the street and into the market.  Ask for Mona's restaurant (Mona? Myanmar?)  It's very close to this market entrance.

This is the gold jewelry store next to the street sign for the turn to Mona's

Night Market!

Asaka Kimono in Paradise

I recently returned from an epic vacation to Vietnam including four tropical nights in the Gulf of Thailand.   Phu Quoc Island is known for its white sand beaches, crystal blue waters, and red dirt roads roaming with cattle and wild ridgeback dogs.  Freedomland -- our aptly named jungle resort -- was a little piece of heaven!  

Sunset on Ong Lang Beach

What better occasion to sew a special garment than Freedomland's famous communal dinners in the jungle!

Yes, I took this picture!  Amazing 4 course dinners every night at Freedomland.

I decided to go big and bold with the Asaka Kimono by Named Pattern Company.  There was no turning back when I saw Closet Case Files' beautiful cotton version!

I am pretty happy with how mine turned out!

In our thatch room bungalow at Freedomland

The silk charmeuse is from Chic Fabrics.  Chic has a great selection of colorful prints at $15/yard.  Highly recommend when in the NYC Garment District.

Cutting this out was challenging.  With previous silk projects I laboriously hand basted the fabric to medical paper to ensure a precise cut.  At Sonja's suggestion, I tried the new-to-me method of laying the silk out in a single layer on muslin before cutting.  Presto!  The muslin adhered to the silk and the cut pieces were more or less precise. Because of the slippery fabric, I sewed with a microtex needle and my walking foot.

The slits at the juncture of the open sleeves were a little bit tricky to hem because they met at a french seam, but I figured it out by clipping at the juncture of the french seam and slit.

In lieu of the iron-on interfacing recommended by the pattern, I used silk organza to interface the collar.  Next time I will try self-fabric for the collar interfacing.  I chose not to interface the belt.

                                           


                                  

The sleeves are set in the round and I had to run some gathering stitches to get the sleeve to fit into the shoulder. This probably wasn't the fault of the pattern drafting.  I think the fabric probably stretched since I forgot to staystitch the curves.

Since indie patterns are more expensive than the Big 4, I had higher expectations of the overall experience. This pattern should have been drafted for french seams. Period.  The seam allowance was only 3/8",   so I took the extra time to add 1/4"  so that I could make french seams. Also,  the instructions  were quite minimal and the cutting layout was only for 60".  I had a scant 4 yards of 45" fabric and spent a head scratching hour maneuvering the 14 individual pattern pieces into a workable layout for 45".

I do wish that I could get the hem to fall evenly and keep the skirt from riding up in every which direction and clinging.  I have a hunch that a lot of these problems would be solved if I used a cotton.
 

Pesky imperfections aside, this make was a real confidence builder.  Working at a steady rhythm, I completed the garment over about 6 days.  Each day I had a new goal and for the most part I accomplished everything on the day that I set out to do it. Maybe my good sewing juju has finally arrived?

Low Marks but High on Cheer: Holiday Dress 2015

Last minute sewing for special occasions has dominated my 2015 RTW Fast...all the way to the end.  

In October, I picked up a beautiful purple paisley silk from Kashi with a simple holiday shift dress in mind.  Two nights before flying home for the holidays, I cut out view B of Simplicity 2586, only to discover the next morning that I had cut out two bodice front pieces instead of one bodice front and one bodice back.  

Don't ask how I did that!  I have no idea...

Don't look too closely.  

This is not my best work.  Even the gathering is wonky and uneven in the front.  And, don't get me started on the late night cutting mistakes that led to a bodice lining that is only 6 inches long.  Two things I am proud of:  I did a great job on the very narrow hem and on using bias binding for the armholes.  

This was my second time cutting out silk and the first time I tried to do so without laboriously hand basting the silk to medical paper before cutting.  The silk shifted while cutting. The next time I work with silk, I will try to just baste along the selvedge and 1 cut edge and sandwich the fabric between medical paper before cutting.  

In spite of the low marks on sewing, I received numerous compliments.  And from people who had no idea I had made the dress myself...Go figure.

For the holiday weekend, my brother and his girlfriend came in from Ohio and my sister made the trip from Raleigh.

There were many people to visit,  several parties to attend and still enough time for a family run and lazy afternoons dozing on the couch.   I love being home with my family.

We sure did eat well this year!  Champagne, torchon de foie gras, truffled pecorino, coq au vin, quail, mousse au chocolat, blinis and smoked salmon, les salades de Maman and so much more.  I am now eligible for a serious January diet..

Iles flottantes fait maison!!