The production techniques used to make the reserve dyed warp patterned 18th French silks known as chines are discussed. Using 18th and 19th century texts as a guide, the author reconstructs the preparation of the warp, its division into groups (branches), its assembly on a reel, its wrapping or binding of areas to be left undyed, and its dyeing processes. Taffetas, satins, and velvets seem to have been dyed in this manner (ikat-like) in Lyon at least until the mid-19th century, despite early 19th century competing practices.