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