Abstract

Symmetry: Culture and Science
Volume 36, Number 2, pages 131-158 (2025)
https://doi.org/10.26830/symmetry_2025_2_131

TEXTILE PATTERN DESIGN AND MATHEMATICAL ASPECTS OF BACKSTRAP WEAVING BY TRADITIONAL KAREN WEAVERS IN NORTHERN THAILAND

Disaya Chudasri^1*, Thomas E. Gilsdorf², Patison Palee³

¹ Department of Architectural and Design Intelligence, School of Architecture, Art, and Design, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, 1 Chalong Krung Road, Ladkrabang, Bangkok, 10520, Thailand.
Email: disaya.ch@kmitl.ac.th, dchudasri@yahoo.com
Web: https://chiangmai.academia.edu/DisayaChudasri

² Department of Mathematics, Central Michigan University, Pearce Hall 201C, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859, USA.
Email: gilsd1te@cmich.edu
Web: http://people.se.cmich.edu/gilsd1te

³ College of Arts, Media and Technology, Chiang Mai University, 239 Huay Kaew Road, Suthep, Muang District, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand.
Email: patison.p@cmu.ac.th

^* Corresponding author

Abstract: Ethnomathematics focuses on the interaction between culture and mathematics for traditional cultures whose mathematics is not widely known, such as the Karen culture of northern Thailand. Studies of traditional methods such as weaving, have shown that people who produce the textiles employ mathematical knowledge that can even include advanced concepts. This article presents a collaborative project between the authors and the Thai Tribal Crafts Fair Trade Company Limited (TTC), and its traditional Karen weavers in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We aim to enable the Karen weavers to preserve their culture of backstrap weaving and transfer this experiential knowledge and skills to their cultural inheritors. In 2023, four pairs of Karen weavers participated in a design-and-weaving project. They created textile patterns, using a digital application by which frieze groups were set as a rule in design. This resulted in photographic images of the desired patterns, and subsequently, these participants made the woven fabrics.

In this article, the authors focus on how these participants translated the photographic images to the physical weaving process. The concept of symmetries and visualization of information are used as analytical tools to elicit and verify information. We present two main findings: (i) challenges in weaving frieze patterns the same as the desired patterns, (ii) the various number and arrangement of rods used to create the textile patterns.

Keywords: backstrap weaving; cultural heritage; frieze group; Karen weavers; symmetry; textile pattern design

Acknowledgements

This research project was supported by Chiang Mai University, and the College of Arts, Media and Technology, where the first author previously worked for. Publication of this research article was supported by School of Architecture, Art, and Design at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL). We would like to thank the staff of Thai Tribal Crafts Fair Trade Company Limited, Karen weaving participants, Korakot Intanon and an undergraduate student (who assisted in a workshop), Nattakorn Sukantamala (Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University), Warin Boonyaputthipong (Faculty of Architecture, Khon Kaen University), and Dorothy Washburn, Ph.D. (Affiliate Scholar, Department of Anthropology, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, USA).

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