Lotus fibre weaving
Description: Lotus fibre weaving
To weave a set of robes for a monk, a woman in Inle Lake would need the fibres from 120,000 stems of the dark pink lotus. This unique fabric, found nowhere else in the world, was invented about a hundred years ago by a woman living at Inle Lake as a gift to her revered abbot. Now, scarves are also woven from this rare material.
The fibres must be used within three days after the stems are pulled from the lake. The stems have a thorny surface which ust be scraped smooth first. About five stems are held together in one hand and a small blade used to circle around the whole fistful at about four inches from the end. This is broken off and pulled apart so that silken filaments flow out from the cut ends. The filaments are laid gently on a wet table surface and with a quick turn of a wrist, the fibres are rolled into a thicker thread. The next batch is twisted onto the end of the previous one so that bit by bit, the thread grows. The collected yarn is washed, starched and spun before it can be woven. Its natural colour is an earthy, light brown.
Book Title : Myanmar Hotels & Tourism Directory 2007-2008.