Palembang Songket

Songket is woven on a frame loom by lifting selected warp threads with pattern sticks and passing an extra weft of metallic thread underneath, so the gold sits on the surface of the silk rather than running through it. Palembang has been the centre of the craft in Sumatra for centuries, and the densest pieces, where gold covers almost the whole ground, were court cloth. A full wedding set of wrap and shoulder cloth can take months and weighs enough to be uncomfortable in the heat, which is partly the point. Weaving houses in the city keep looms working in the front room and will explain the pattern names to anyone who asks.

What you actually see

• Supplementary weft - gold thread floated over the silk instead of woven through it.
• Frame looms - warp threads lifted by hand with pattern sticks, row by row.
• Dense court patterns - pieces where the metallic ground almost hides the silk.
• Wedding sets - matched wrap, shoulder cloth and headpiece worn for the ceremony.

When to go

Weaving houses work through the morning and into the afternoon on weekdays, and are quiet or shut on Sundays. Wedding season raises demand and the looms are busiest then, though weavers have less time to talk. Palembang is hot and humid all year, so a morning visit is far more comfortable than an afternoon one.

Honest expectations

Real songket is expensive, and the cheaper cloth on sale uses synthetic thread that tarnishes over a machine-made ground. The metallic surface snags easily and does not fold well for a suitcase. Palembang gets few foreign visitors, English is limited, and most weaving houses expect a call ahead through a hotel or guide. City traffic is slow.

Nearby

The Musi riverfront and the city museums are a short drive away.