What is Şile Fabric?
Şile Fabric is a rare textile product that has been woven, processed, and used in various applications from home textiles to clothing for over 150 years. It is a unique textile that blends historical significance with modern relevance. Şile Fabric is a type of crinkled weaving created using the “bez ayağı” technique. The surface of the crinkled weave features a distinctive natural pattern resembling fine paths of folds. Due to its crinkled structure, which varies in width depending on the twist of the threads, air remains between the fabric and the body, providing thermal insulation as the fabric does not cling to the body. The production process begins with boiling first-class, 100% raw cotton threads in a wooden fire, a copper cauldron, and a water and flour mixture. Each stage of preparing the weaving warp and weaving the fabric involves the skilled hands and labor of the people of Şile.
Traditionally woven with true edges, Şile Fabrics are washed in the mildly salted waters of the Black Sea and dried on the fine sands of the Şile shores. Thus, genuine Şile Fabric matures through the labor of Şile’s people, acquiring its unique regional identity with the sea and sands of Şile. The women of Şile also embroider and adorn the fabrics with intricate needlework and lace, weaving their sorrows, joys, and life experiences into the fabric.