Videos showing the steps for banana-fibre yarn making
Making banana fibre yarn for weaving banana-fibre cloth, bashofu, involves a series of steps that can be watched on the videos below. Moreover, it is said that the fibres from about 200 fibre-banana plants, itobasho, are needed to weave one kimono.
Cutting down the pseudostalks of itobasho, the banana-fibre plants
April 2000 in Shuri (Okinawa, Japan)
7 min 18 sec
Stripping down the fibrous layers of the pseudostalks
April 2000 in Shuri (Okinawa, Japan)
11 min 33 sec
Boiling the fibrous layers in an alkaline solution
April 2000 in Shuri (Okinawa, Japan)
8 min 8 sec
Making tools to scrape off the fibrous layers
April 2000 in Shuri (Okinawa, Japan)
9 min 50 sec
Twisting banana-fibre yarn for the warp
Aoril 2000 in Shuri (Okinawa, Japan)
4 min 31 sec
Knotting banana fibre to make banana-fibre yarn
2001 on Miyako Island (Okinawa Prefecture, Japan)
6 min 33 sec
stripping off the layers (1)
28 sec
stripping off the layers (2)
1 min 16 sec
stripping off the layers (3)
1 min 29 sec
stripping off the layers (4)
1 min 50 sec
boiling the fibrous layers (1)
40 sec
boiling the fibrous layers (2)
1 min 32 sec
making bamboo tools (1)
2 min 39 sec
making bamboo tools (2)
20 sec
scraping off the boiled layers (1)
1 min 30 sec
scraping off the boiled layers (2)
1 min 15 sec
scraping off the boiled layers (3)
35 sec
winding dried fibre in balls (1)
1 min 23 sec
winding dried fibre in balls (2)
1 min 5 sec
knotting banana fibre to make yarn (1)
1 min 19 sec
knotting banana fibre to make yarn (2)
36 sec
winding up the knotted yarn (1)
1 min 3 sec
winding up the knotted yarn (2)
1 min 29 sec