JIm Thompson is expensive.

For thai silk try Old Siam its near China world .

Its near the Fabric market in Sampheng. You can get great variety of silk at Thai price around 300 Bht per meter.

Cheers.

Thank you very much for the responses!

Steve

I know where you can buy Thai fabrics.

May be I can help you.

please contact me.

bravegreatheart@gmail.com

Get to know silk before purchasing in Thailand, there is lots of polyester disguised as silk.

Silk in Thailand is reasonably priced but not cheap. The same thing in imitation silk is far less than that. Just because it says on the label "100% Thai silk" doesn't mean that it is.

Weave is another way to figure out if the item is real silk. Real silk is totally handmade using all natural fibres and shows small faults where the threads are joined. Polyester is machine-made and the surface is perfect.

A light test shows whether a piece is real or fake. One hundred percent Thai silk has one color lengthwise threads and a different color across the width, which creates a luster that makes Thai silk unique. 100% silk, held up to the light, changes color as you move it to different angles. Imitation silk stays the same color.

Print on real Thai silk is only on one side with its outline visible on the other side. Hold both sides up to the light. The full print side will change colors but the other side won't. Fake silk shows the pattern and colors on one side, but a plain color on the other side. Both sides glisten white when held up to the light.

A final check is the burn test. A thread of 100% Thai silk leaves a fine ash and has the odor of hair, but stops burning when the flame is removed. Fake silk drips, makes black smoke and continues to burn after the flame is removed.

Just realised that you friends probably already knows enough about silk though :) But maybe the above message might help others.

Thank you so much for the advice, SnowPirate. My friend may, or may not (!) know a lot about silk, but this is good guidance for anyone buying Thai silk. I have sent your advice on to my friend. Thanks again.

Steve

Wow! Thank you so very much SnowPirate! I had no idea about all that detail. I would have just bought anything and thought I got a bargain!

Thanks again!

Thanks all! I have passed on the info so far. My friend is travelling on Tuesday and would really appreciate some shop/business names and addresses as her time in Bangkok is fairly limited. Thanks again.

the bottom line here is if you want high quality silk then places like Jim Thomson's is the place to buy, but not at retail prices.

Unbeknownst to most visitors there are 2 factory outlets selling home furnishing fabrics, out-of-collection silks, cotton and linen; fabric by the metre and remnants. Prices are significantly reduced when compared to their retail outlets in the glitzy malls.

The 2 outlets are located at 9 Surawong Rd, Silom and at 153 Sukhumvit Rd Soi 93. I've virtually purchased most of my stuff from either of these 2 places.

Or if you have time the Jim Thomson Silk Farm is located about 2 hrs NE of Bangkok near Korat.

There is also a once a year clearance sale held in December, usually at BITEC, even cheaper than the outlets.

2 things i need to point out

1. the so called light test and other tests for silk that SnowPirate mentioned does not cover all types of silk

2. China town predominantly has lowewr quality silks mainly brought in from China. Most of the tailor shops geared towards tourists buy their stuff from here and then claim it as good/high quality.

bkk3