At a weaving centre perched on stilts over the waters of Inle Lake, I saw the painstaking work involved in making lotus thread, traditionally used for monks’ robes.
After scoring the outside of the lotus stems with a knife, the stems are broken and pulled apart a short distance, twisted to join the strands that develop…
…joined to the previously made segment…
…stretched along a board…
...and rolled:
This process is repeated countless thousands of times. A metre of fabric can require the stems of 6000 lotus flowers.
The lotus thread is coiled loosely in a pot to dry…
and reeled into a skein:
To see the fabrics woven with this unique thread, see Inle Lake: Lotus Weaving
great technique! i did not know that fiber could be pulled from lotus plants. i’d like to try this technique with milkweed.
Let us know how you get on, shiborigirl
Thanks
You’re welcome, Patrick!
We saw this happening when we were at the weaving place on Inle Lake 4 years ago – it was amazing!
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