Other lands
The Lao sinh
The tube skirt of Laos, with a woven border at the hem and a shoulder cloth, worn by women for work, school and ceremony.
Presented by ClearTrust Free for wearers, makers and the curious.
The sinh is the tube skirt of Lao women, sewn into a cylinder and worn to the ankle, with a decorated band at the hem. For formal occasions it is worn with a blouse and a shoulder cloth. It is not a saree, but a wrapped garment with a border that shows, as on a saree.
Wrapped step by step
Each drawing shows the cloth so far, with the newest step outlined in gold. The figure is a front view; the wearer's left is on your right.
Step 1 Put on the fitted blouse. Step 2 Step into the sewn sinh and pull it up to the waist. Step 3 Fold the extra cloth over at the waist and tuck it in. Step 4 Fasten a belt over the fold if wished. Step 5 Lay the pha biang scarf across the chest and over one shoulder. Step 6 Smooth the skirt so the woven hem band shows at the ankle. Finished The Lao sinh, seen from the front.
Where it comes from
Lao weaving is a living craft, especially among the Lao and Tai peoples. Women weave the cloth for the sinh on foot-powered looms, often with supplementary weft patterns in silk and cotton. The patterned band at the hem, the teen sinh, can be woven in a different cloth from the body and sewn on. Styles differ between regions, ethnic groups and families, and sinh patterns are recognised as markers of where a woman comes from. Weavers may use natural dyes such as indigo and lac, which are well known in the region.
How it looks
The sinh is a cylinder that the wearer steps into and fastens at the waist, folding the extra cloth over and tucking it, often with a belt. The body of the skirt may be plain or striped, and the hem band is full of woven motifs in gold or bright thread. A fitted blouse is worn above, and a long woven scarf, the pha biang, is laid across the chest or over one shoulder for formal dress. Some bands are heavy with gold thread and some are plain, and the width of the band varies with the style.
Who wears it and when
Women wear it as a daily skirt, as a school or office uniform in many places, and as ceremonial dress at weddings, the new year in April and Buddhist festivals. Silk versions with fine woven hems are kept for special days. Because the sinh is sewn to size, wearers have them made to measure. A well-made one is a family treasure, and old pieces are collected for the weaving in the hem. Wearing the sinh is an everyday sign of Lao identity. This guide gives the general form, and a maker, dresser or family may do it a little differently.
Sarees worn this way
Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryPallu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The drawings are simplified diagrams of the order of wrapping, not a lesson: how a drape is worn differs from family to family. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Ikat: Midori, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sinh: YashiWong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source