A black and orange silk bandana, drawn from a citadel in Hanoi.
The lotus that keeps its grace.
Most silk squares borrow their story from Paris; this one carries its own, a lotus drawn from Hoang Thanh Thang Long, the imperial citadel at the heart of Hanoi, and printed by hand in our atelier in the same city. Orange blooms against deep black like lantern light at dusk, and when the silk turns, the color glows warmer still.
A 22-inch square of mulberry silk in black and orange at sixteen momme, its edges rolled by hand on all four sides. It is small enough to carry everywhere and beautiful enough to be noticed wherever it goes.
16 Momme
5A Grade
2 Sides printed
We pay the import duty, not you.
Nothing owed on arrival, nothing added at checkout. Shipping is $20, free from $90. Sent from Hanoi, most US orders land in 9 to 15 business days.
Buying this for someone else? Two things before you read any further: it ships from Hanoi, so allow 9 to 15 business days to a US address, and it arrives gift boxed with your note written by hand and no price anywhere in the parcel.
Four ways to tie a 22-inch square
The bag handle Roll it narrow on the diagonal, wind it up the handle and finish with a small bow; against black leather the orange glows from across the room.
The ponytail or topknot Rolled on the diagonal and wound twice around the elastic, then knotted on top with the orange ends left to fall.
The neckerchief Fold it corner to corner, roll from the long edge, wrap once and knot at the side of the throat with the point at the front, an easy classic over a crewneck, a v-neck or a mock neck.
The wrist Wrapped twice and knotted, beside a bracelet or in its place, where it waits on the days it is not in her hair.
A 22-inch square is a little small to wrap the head, belt a waist or drape over the shoulders; for those, the 36 inch square covers the head and the 44 inch square falls over the shoulders and ties at the waist. Our guide to which size to choose shows what each size can do.
Same size, other colorways: Dark Red · Pink and Green
Where black and orange feel at home
Black and orange belongs to a wardrobe that is already mostly dark, and it asks for no outfit to be built around it, a rare kindness in a printed scarf.
An all-neutral outfit Black, gray, camel or cream and nothing more, so the scarf brings all the color and carries the whole look.
A white shirt A timeless pairing: knotted small at the throat over a plain white shirt, it looks considered and quietly polished.
Denim Rolled up a bag handle or tied at the wrist with jeans and a plain top, the version she wears on a weekend errand as happily as to dinner.
Over a turtleneck or mock neck Tied outside the collar, where the orange breaks a dark knit into something finished and alive.
What the hand notices
Begin with the fiber. Mulberry silk is a natural protein spun by the silkworm, and each cocoon unwinds as one continuous filament hundreds of yards long.
Then feel the weight. A small square is expected to feel like a handkerchief, and at sixteen momme this one has real presence, enough for a bow on a bag handle to keep its shape through a long day of travel.
And look closely, because this is the size that is seen closest: at the wrist or on a handle it sits about two feet from a friend across the table, where every detail of the craft is in view.
Small square, fine details
01
A weight that holds a bow Lighter silk has to be pulled tight before a knot will hold; this has the mass for a bow on a bag handle to stay a bow.
02
One small square, four uses Bag, hair, neck and wrist, with no clasp or hardware, and happy beside anything she owns.
03
A hem worth a close look A 22-inch square has proportionally more edge than any other size, and at the wrist or on a handle that edge sits close to the eye. Rolled by hand, the hem is turned and stitched into a soft, rounded cord, where a machine leaves a flat folded band, and at two feet the difference is plain to see.
Test it for yourself
Every box carries a cutting from the bolt your square came from, so the test can be made on that small piece and the square stays untouched.
|
Mulberry silk |
Polyester |
| Held to a flame |
Burns |
Melts |
| The smell |
Singed hair |
Acrid, like plastic |
| What is left |
Soft ash, crushes between your fingers |
Hard bead, sticks |
If you try it: over a sink, clear of anything that can catch, not with children in the room. A corner is enough. It is a home check, not lab proof.
Rather not hold a flame to anything? The silk is tested at the Textile Testing Center, part of the Vietnam Textile Research Institute. Outside lab, outside paperwork.
Add to bag and check it yourself →
The craft in a $75 square
Size changes little about the work. The edge of a small square is proportionally longer, and every inch of it is rolled and stitched by hand, close to an hour at this size alone.
Both faces are printed, so the cloth passes through the press twice, and the orange is laid down with enough depth to glow against the black. The motif is redrawn by hand in our studio, work that takes the same care whether it lands on 22 inches or 44, and because we make every square in our own atelier in Hanoi and send it straight to you, the price stays at $75.
What size silk scarf should I buy?
| 22 in |
Bag handle, ponytail, wrist, small neckerchief this one
|
| 26 in → |
Neck knot, headband, ponytail · $97 |
| 36 in → |
Full head wrap, sleep wrap · $153 |
| 44 in → |
Shoulder wrap, waist tie, pillow cover · $197 |
The honest split by what you want it for: a bag, a wrist or a ponytail, this one. A proper neck knot, the 26. Hair covered completely, the 36. Shoulders or a waist tie, the 44. Black and orange is printed in all four sizes.
Getting it there in time
If there is a date attached to this, it is worth reading before you order.
Nine to fifteen business days to a US address, counted from the day it leaves Hanoi.
For Christmas delivery in the US, we recommend ordering by November 27.
Ship it straight to her. Sending it to yourself first and forwarding it adds a week you do not need to spend. We write your note by hand and there is no price anywhere in the parcel.
If the date is fixed, write to us at Folkformint@gmail.com before you order.
Which motif should I be looking at?
Each motif we print holds its own meaning; this short map helps you find the one for her.
Buying for someone who kept her grace through something hard A teacher, a retirement, a long recovery: this is the one. The Vietnamese say the lotus grows near the mud and carries none of its smell, and that image is the whole of its meaning.
Buying for a person, for who she is A mother, a new chapter, a fresh start: Phoenix Dance, the empress's bird, a wish for rebirth and feminine grace.
Buying for an achievement A promotion, a milestone, a corporate gift: for these we draw two dragons. Dragon Dreams sets large dragons at the corners so the square reads as a picture, and Dragon of Grace repeats the same creature small in center symmetry, the one that stays beautiful when rolled at this size.
Buying for a couple For an engagement, a wedding or an anniversary, Lotus Serenade sets two mandarin ducks beneath one flower, the lotus read as a promise between two.
A silk square from Hanoi, and its own story
A lovely question to ask. The French and Italian houses draw on their own visual history, and ours comes from a history few people have seen in a photograph.
Theirs is a world of equestrian tack, heraldry, botanical plates and nautical rope, real and beautifully theirs, and much imitated because the look is so familiar.
Our drawings come from Hoang Thanh Thang Long, the imperial citadel at the center of Hanoi, begun in 1010 and brought back to light by archaeologists in recent decades. The lotus on this square is redrawn by hand in our studio from archive photographs of the carved stone found there, never from a stock library.
In practice, that gives her a pattern she is unlikely to meet on anyone else, and when a stranger asks about it, a story far richer than a brand name.
A gift to keep on hand
Under eighty dollars, with no size to guess and no season it belongs to, and it arrives boxed, so it is a lovely gift to keep in a drawer for the occasion that surprises you.
It also gives her words to share. When someone admires it, she can say: it is a lotus from the old citadel in Hanoi, a flower that keeps its grace wherever it grows.
For someone who has never worn a scarf The gentlest beginning at this size and price: no skill, no size and no commitment, and if she falls for it, she will know what to wish for next.
For a teacher, or someone retiring The meaning is tender and specific, and it is the reason to choose this motif: it says you saw the grace they kept, without a speech or a card.
For a colleague, or several Under a hundred dollars and boxed with care, it suits a whole team without a single size to guess.
For a wedding, a milestone or a fiftieth birthday This size feels thoughtful and light; when the gift should carry more ceremony, the 36 inch square is the one.
The lotus in the stone of the citadel
Most people meet the lotus as a symbol; in old Hanoi it was also carved into the palace itself.
When archaeologists uncovered Hoang Thanh Thang Long, the imperial citadel begun in 1010, they found stone column bases carved with lotus petals, bases that once bore the weight of the palace roof. The flower was cut into the very stone that held the building up.
It blooms throughout that eleventh to fifteenth century layer too, in the ponds within the citadel walls, in sculpture, and glazed onto the ceramics of the court, both pale green celadon and blue-glazed ware.
A Vietnamese folk verse holds the reason it is loved: the lotus grows near the mud and carries none of its smell. It is the image of a person who keeps her grace in circumstances that do not deserve it, and it gives this square its meaning.
Our studio redraws the motif by hand from archive photographs of the excavated pieces and separates the drawing into screens, one screen and one pass for every color, printed panel by panel in Hanoi. Our guide to what the Imperial Lotus motif means tells the rest of the story.
The box, the care, and the returns
In the box A rigid gift box and matching bag · the square folded in tissue · a story card naming the motif and its dynasty · an illustrated styling guide · a care card · the silk cutting. Nothing left for you to wrap. Sending it straight to her? We write your note by hand and keep the price out of the parcel.
Washing Easier than people fear, and less often. Silk sheds dust on its own, so every three to five wears is plenty, and a deep ground goes about twice as long as a pale one. Cold water, shampoo or body wash rather than laundry detergent. Squeeze, never wring. Dry in shade, never in sun. Iron on the lowest silk setting while still faintly damp.
Returns Thirty days from delivery, unused and unwashed, in the original box. If the fault is ours, a flaw in the silk, a print error, a seam that failed, postage goes both ways on us and you get a replacement or a full refund. Changed your mind? Thirty days, return postage yours, and if you take store credit instead of a refund we add fifteen percent. One condition: it comes back unused, unwashed and unworn, in its original box.
Specifications
| Material |
100% Grade 5A mulberry silk |
| Color |
Black and Orange |
| Motif |
Co Do Lien Hoa · Imperial Lotus · Ly and Tran Dynasty |
| Source |
Lotus in Thang Long palace architecture, 11th to 15th century |
| Weight |
16 momme |
| Size |
22 × 22 in · 55 × 55 cm |
| Print |
Hand screen-printed, double-sided |
| Edges |
Hand-rolled, hand-stitched · 220 cm |
| Testing |
Textile Testing Center, Vietnam Textile Research Institute |
| Made in |
Hanoi, Vietnam |
One small square of black and orange silk,
and a lotus from the citadel, carried close.
Black and orange mulberry silk at sixteen momme, printed through both faces, the hem rolled by hand in Hanoi. It arrives gift boxed with a cutting you are welcome to set on fire.
Add to bag · $75
Free US shipping from $90 No customs fees 30-day returns
