If you are an interior design professional with a current Soane Britain trade account, you can now sign in below and see trade/net prices online.
If you have given us your email address and you have a current trade account with Soane, you will have received an email inviting you to update your password in order to sign in.
To receive this email again or ask another question, please contact us
To reset your trade account password enter your email address below and you will be sent an email shortly.
To apply for a trade account please click here
To create your trade account please enter your information below and you will be sent an email shortly.
Every piece Soane creates, whether furniture, lighting or fabrics, holds a story, from its historic design influences to meticulous manufacturing by our skilled British craftsmen. At Soane we thrive on exchanging these stories – they capture our imaginations and enrich our daily lives. The Journal offers an opportunity to take these conversations further and delve into other subjects that excite and inspire us. We warmly invite you to share in our musings
Lulu Lytle
Founder & Creative Director
Today Mutka silk is produced primarily in rural India, where it provides an important source of income to artisanal families. Soane’s mutka silk originates from central India where there is a plentiful supply of the yarns all year round. It is highly prized as it is hand-spun in village homes by third generation families of silk weavers and not in larger mills. No harmful chemicals are involved in the production of the cloth and only azo-free and reactive dyes are used in the colouring process. For the off white or natural base cloths the fabric is simply bleached.
Mutka is essentially up cycled silk, as it is spun from waste mulberry silk; either the short threads left over from reeling or from pierced cocoons, making them unsuitable for conventional silk production. These broken threads are spun into yarns that have an inconsistent, slubby texture resulting in a fabric which is less glossy and smooth than if it had been woven from continuous wheeled silk threads. Because it is spun from the cocoons of moths which have made their natural escape, rather than having died, it is deemed by Hindus to be pure enough for ceremonial use.
Although Mutka silk’s imperfections reduced its status, it was favoured by the Persians as the foundation thread for heavy gold and silver brocades (kincob), such as those from Benares, as its weight could support the dense metallic patterns.
The name of this glorious silk derives from a mud pot (‘mutka’ or ’matka’ in its local dialect) in which the waste filaments of the cocoons were originally held whilst spinning. It’s also the Bengali/Hindi word for ‘free’, referencing the moth being allowed to exit the cocoon.
We hope that these photographs convey the subtle sheen, heavy drape and softness of Soane’s Mutka silk and the antique atmosphere of patterns printed on it. Most of our hand printed designs can be customised on Mutka silk with minimum orders of only 20 metres. Please do request samples.
From second gallery left to right: Karun Thakar – Floral Lattice – Ocherous – Mutka Silk (Both left and right); Dianthus Chintz – Original – Mutka Silk (Both left and right); Tulips and Butterflies – Original – Mutka Silk (Both left and right); Scrolling Fern Silhouette – Moss – Mutka Silk; Scrolling Acanthus – Moss – Mutka Silk; Base Cloth – Ivory – Mutka Silk
To make an enquiry please use our Contact us form