A brown and pink silk bandana, the gentlest touch of color.
Rose and cocoa, tied through a ponytail.
Warm brown and soft rose meet on this small square like the inside of a shell, and the effect is tender more than bright. Wound around a ponytail, rolled into a narrow band or knotted at the wrist, it reads as a fine detail, and when the silk turns in lamplight the pink deepens to the color of old roses.
Mulberry silk at sixteen momme in a 22-inch square of brown and pink, printed by hand in Hanoi with mandarin ducks and lotus from the Ly and Tran Dynasty, and hemmed by hand on all four sides.
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. No size to guess, and no season it waits for.
Where she will wear it
Around a ponytail Wound twice around the elastic and knotted on top with the ends left long, it turns a simple ponytail into a finished look.
Rolled into a narrow band Half the width of a cotton headband, a slim line of silk that reads as a detail more than a covering.
The wrist, the rest of the day Wrapped twice and knotted, a soft cuff of rose and brown that keeps it close all day.
Warm tones, for a woman of quiet elegance Pink brings softness and brown keeps it grown-up, a pairing for a woman who dresses with assurance and no interest in trends.
Twenty-two inches is a little small to wrap long, thick or tightly coiled hair or to wear overnight; for a full wrap choose the 36 inch square, and the 44 inch square if the plan is to lay it over a pillow.
Same size, other colorways: Green and Pink · Brown and Blue
The feel of it
Its fiber is mulberry silk, a natural protein spun by the silkworm, every cocoon wound from one unbroken thread that runs for hundreds of yards.
Lighter scarves must be pulled tight to stay in place; at sixteen momme this one holds by its own weight and a knot, so it can sit loosely and still stay where she put it.
There is more cloth in the hand than a small square promises, and that weight lets a loose knot keep its shape all day.
Three small delights
01
Weight instead of tension Heavy silk holds itself, so it can be tied loosely and still be in place at six o'clock.
02
One small square, four uses Ponytail, headband, wrist or a small knot at the throat, all without a clasp or a pin.
03
An edge rolled by hand A 22-inch square carries proportionally more edge than a larger one, and at the wrist that edge is seen up close. The hem is turned and stitched by hand into a soft, rounded cord, where a machine would press a flat band, and the difference shows at a glance.
The proof in her box
A small cutting from the bolt her square came from rides along in the box, so the test is made on that piece and never on the scarf.
|
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.
Worth knowing for anything worn in hair: satin is a weave, not a fiber. Our silk is tested at the Textile Testing Center, part of the Vietnam Textile Research Institute.
Add to bag and check it yourself →
The work in a $75 square
The edge is where a scarf shows its care, and a small square has more of it for its size; rolled and stitched by hand, it takes close to an hour even here.
The press takes the cloth twice, once for each face, and the brown is blended so it stays warm and even beside the pink. Redrawing the motif from period architectural fragments costs the same for a 22-inch square as for a 44, and since every square is made in our own atelier in Hanoi and sent directly to you, the price is $75.
What size silk scarf should I buy?
| 22 in |
Ponytail, narrow band, wrist this one
|
| 26 in → |
Headband, ponytail, neck knot · $97 |
| 36 in → |
Full head wrap, sleep wrap · $153 |
| 44 in → |
Pillow cover, shoulder wrap, everyday layer · $197 |
The honest split by what you want it for: hair off the face and a little volume added, this one. Hair covered completely, the 36. Brown and pink is printed in all four.
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?
Our motifs each hold a different wish, and this short guide points to the right one.
Buying for a couple, or for the family around one An engagement, a wedding, an anniversary, a new grandchild: this is the motif, for the mandarin duck has long stood for faithfulness and a household at peace. Our guide to the mandarin duck wedding gift tells the story in full.
Buying for a person, about who she is A mother, a new chapter, a recovery: the phoenix of Phoenix Dance, the empress's bird, carries a wish for rebirth.
Buying for an achievement A promotion, a milestone, a leader, a corporate gift belong to our dragons: Dragon Dreams sets large dragons at the corners like a picture, and Dragon of Grace repeats the creature small in center symmetry, lovely even when rolled at this size.
What do you actually do with a 22-inch square?
At twenty-two inches she has the ponytail, the band, the wrist and the small neck knot, everything but a full head wrap, and none of it needs a pin or a lesson. Our guide to which size to choose shows the larger squares beside it.
The ponytail wrap Wind it twice round the elastic, knot it on top and leave the ends to fall.
The rolled band Fold it corner to corner, roll it narrow and tie it at the nape with the tails tucked, a fine line of color.
The wrist Wrapped twice and knotted, with a bracelet or in its place.
The small neck knot Folded into a triangle, rolled slim and tied snugly at the throat, a touch of rose at the collar.
Her box also carries an illustrated guide to more than twenty further knots.
The gift in the drawer
Buy it before the occasion arrives. Under eighty dollars, boxed and needing no size, it waits in a drawer for the birthday or thank-you that appears without warning.
It also gives her a story. When someone admires it, she can say: they are mandarin ducks from old Vietnamese palace roofs, a wish for a love that lasts.
For a mother or a mother-in-law, no occasion Warm, gentle colors she will reach for often, and given on an ordinary Wednesday, the gift feels all the more personal.
For a colleague, or several A boxed gift under a hundred dollars that asks nothing about size or taste, easy to give to everyone on the list.
When a larger square is kinder For long, thick or tightly coiled hair, the 36 inch square gives the cloth she needs; and when the gift should carry real ceremony, the larger sizes say more.
Mandarin ducks among the roof tiles
One detail explains why the motif exists.
From the eleventh to the fifteenth century, terracotta mandarin ducks were set among the tiles of palace roofs, a pair placed high above the household as a blessing.
Why ducks on a palace? Mandarin ducks keep to their pair, and a pair on a roof was a wish, for a marriage that holds and a household at peace. The lotus below them carries the rest of the meaning, for it is said in Vietnamese to grow in mud and keep none of its smell.
Every motif is redrawn by hand in our studio from archive photographs of the excavated pieces, then printed in Hanoi one screen and one pass per color, panel by panel.
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 Every few wears, a little sooner when it is worn in hair, because hair product transfers. 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 |
Brown and Pink |
| Motif |
Uyen Uong Lien Ha · Lotus Serenade · Ly and Tran Dynasty |
| Source |
Mandarin duck ridge-tile figures, Thang Long and Hoa Lu |
| 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 brown and pink silk,
soft as a rose petal, and made to be worn every day.
Brown and pink mulberry silk at sixteen momme, printed through both faces and hemmed 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
