A Songket Revolution

Tanoti Sdn Bhd commenced operations in May 2012 when it assumed a community of songket weavers from the foundation of the previous HRH Queen of Malaysia, Yayasan Tuanku Nur Zahirah. Thus, songket or supplementary weft weavers were the pioneers of the Tanoti community.

Songket is a traditional fabric of golds, silvers and metallic threads, used by the Malay community for ceremonies and celebrations.

Within the atelier of Tanoti House, weaver artisans innovate the traditional techniques of songket weaving and produce exquisite fabric using their simple handloom

‘The versatility of the weaver as well as the equipment she controls allows for innovation to be carried out every time, thus allowing Tanoti’s atelier to continuously produce works of both high artistic and technical standards.’

Tanoti’s handloomed fabrics from our own atelier include the following:

  • Silk ground weave with supplementary weft woven using standard threads and elastic yarns

    Silk ground weave with supplementary weft woven using standard threads and elastic yarns

  • Mix media of silk warp, shimmery Lurex threads and rattan strips

  • Silk painted warp with shimmery threads, together with tapestry weaving and songket weaving

  • Mix media of polyester and rattan ground weaves,with silk threads for supplementary wefts

  • Traditional Malay songket patterns

  • Leatherweaves of leather cords ground weave and flat leather strips for supplementary weft

    Leatherweaves of leather cords ground weave and flat leather strips for supplementary weft

  • Polyester threads with rattan wefts, and mix media songket of polyester threads and copper wires

  • Spot warp painted silk with thick ply threads in Sarawak songket technique to introduce texture on the pattern

  • Silk organza painted warp with conteporary presentation of traditional Malay motifs

  • Split warp of waxed threads with weft of thin leather strips

  • Sheer silk and stainless steel threads on the ground weave with songket of Lurex metallic threads

  • Warp painted silk with discontinuous supplementary weft weaving

    Warp painted silk with discontinuous supplementary weft weaving

  • Songket patterns being woven according to the design of the outfit

  • Silk and Shetland wool warp, adorned with songket of cotton yarns

1 14

Tanoti's work has been acknowledged by the following awards :

  • ASEAN Silk Prize
  • WCC Awards of Excellence

Tanoti also runs a Songket Weaving Training Programme funded by Maybank Foundation under the Maybank Women Eco Weaver programme. Within the training programme, young ladies learn entire process relating to producing handwoven songket.