Skill of the weaver in Laos

"It is the skill of the weaver rather than the complexity of the loom that produces intricate and varied Lao textiles."

This is one of my favorite weaving quotes and is taken from Mary Connor's Lao Textiles and Traditions, unfortunately out of print. I came upon the quote when looking through the book, along with several others we have and trying to define exactly what is a "pha biang." Yes, it's a shoulder cloth, but is it a term more used for describing the shoulder cloths worn by Buddhist women or those worn by "animist" ethnic groups like the Tai Daeng.

You can see one of our weaving videos on YouTube that illustrates Connor's quote below. The weaver is from Muang Vaen and you can see the beautiful textiles these talented weavers weaver here.