09/07/2024
The process of making h**p fabrics consists of 9 major steps
Cultivation - sow the seed densely to produce tall, slender stems. One stem by one stem…
Harvesting - after flowering but before the seeds set. Retting - The process of naturally occurring bacteria and fungi, or chemicals, and break down the pectins that bind the h**p fibers to be released. In order to achieve those results stems are soaked in water tanks, ponds or in streams for around 10 days. Alternatively another technique uses laying the crop on the ground for three to six weeks, turning the plants occasionally to allow for even retting.
Then the stems are broken by passing them through a breaker or fluted rolls.
The broken stems are then beaten in a process known as scutching, separating the desired fibers from h**p’s woody core.
The fibers are then hackled (combed) to remove any remaining woody particles and to further align the fibers into a continuous sliver.
This sliver is twisted and drawn out further to improve strength, then wound on spinning bobbins. Generally, to produce a better, finer yarn, the fibers are then thoroughly wetted in a small trough of water as part of the spinning process, known as wet spinning.
After the process is done there is a number of techniques to either put and embroidery or indigo patterns on the fabric.
All of the above with the bare hands
You can’t imagine until you see it, the amount of work still put into making a piece of real h**p fabric in the traditional areas.
I also saw foreigners bargaining with local ladies the price of the fabric since they found 50euro for a meter long piece of home grown and made fabric too expensive. I leave the comments up to you.
