The vestiges of the Angkor Empire at Angkor Wat or Bayon offers clues to trace the origin of Cambodian silk fabrics. On the bas-reliefs depicting the daily life of the people during that time or Apsaras(celestial maidens) with mysterious smiles, We have noticed that there are costumes with floral motifs or geometrical border patterns that very much resemble the Indian Ikat called Patola(Double Ikat) of the same period. According to the book "The Customs of Cambodia" written by one Chinese, Chou Ta-Kuan who visited Angkor Empire in 13 century and described its people's life in his book, textiles with spaced floral design have been imported from India and dealt with as the very finest cloths. Moreover, Angkor people have begun raising silkworms and weaving.

1. 2-Ply or 3-Ply or more? The ply of the silk cloth or textile translates into the weight and thickness of the fabric. Clothing fabric is often 2-ply, while fabric used to make pillowcases or soft furnishings can be 3-ply and upwards. Silk fabric is durable, so if you are not going to lay on it or but lots of pressure on it, you can also use 2-ply for soft furnishings such as duvet covers, shams, table settings, etc. Khmer silk traditionally is woven in 3-ply.

2. Organza Silk organza is hand woven in Cambodia. It is the lightest weight silk and see-through or transparent. Often it is used for shear wall or window coverings, and beautiful shear clothing.

3. Jaquard This fabric, although well-known from French and Italian designs, is mostly produced on machines today. However, in Cambodia, it is hand woven using complex multi-levels of peddles on the loom to produce a textured, multi-dimensional, multi-patterned luxurious cloth that is

4. Gold and Silver Lame Cloth with golden or silver threads woven in are more valuable as the threads are costly. Traditionally, these textiles are made for religious and traditional costumes for weddings, ceremonies, etc. In the past, mostly the Royal family and the Royal Court used these highly priced cloths.

5. Khmer names “Pah muong”, “Hol”, “La bouk”, etc. Khmer names for the type of silk pieces is not like European names for the type of textile. The Khmer names actually indicates both the type of weaving and design and the traditional use of the cloth. Like “Pah muong” is 100% plain colors silk, traditionally 3-ply and used for a skirt or pantaloons”. “Hol” is the ikat and tie-dyed patterned cloth and is used traditionally only as a traditional skirt for daytime ceremonies. “Pa muong” can be sewn into modern dresses for evening, as in the 1960’s, but “hol” is mostly for going to “wat” or temple. If the plain silk skirt is mixed with cotton, it is never called “Pa muong”, since it is not silk; it is called “sung”. “La bouk” is a jacquard weave and with patterns, and worn as a skirt. “Pidan” is made like “hol”, but actually,

because its patterns are always depicting religious scenes and in modern times, depicting village life or conceptualized religious interpretations, ‘pidan’ is a wall hanging. Older generations of Khmers with real understanding of the weaving techniques and patterns, esteem to use the textiles properly to respect it’s high value. It was rare in the past to see a blouse made from a “pidan” cloth, although it is fashionable today.