Wild Hemp Crossbody Bag; Mithila Print

To make this Mithila crossbody bag the wild hemp yarn has been drawn by tooth and spindle method, where the fibres are separated by teeth and is held on to a hand held spindle. It takes 10 days' work to make one kilogramme of yarn.  

MEASUREMENTS Length 27cm Width 21cm Depth 4cm

THE PROCESS After the end of the rainy season villagers leave their farms to gather hemp and nettle before the plants start to flower. Covering their hands with a cloth to avoid the giant stingers, teams of harvesters cut both the nettle and hemp above the ground without disturbing the soil. The plants then grows back with the next rains. The fibrous inner bark is stripped from the plant and boiled in water and wood ash for about three hours and then left to simmer overnight. The plant material can then be beaten and the fibre removed. It is then rubbed with soil containing mica, which lubricates the yarn and makes separating and spinning the fibres easier. The fibre is dried in the sun and teased and is ready for spinning. This is done using a hand spindle indoors. Using this yarn the hemp cloth is then woven on a backstrap loom. Finally the cloth is cut and stitched into handbags, rucksacks, shirts, wallets and even slippers in our small workshop in Kathmandu.

(limited stock)

Posted using biodegradable materials, for more info on shipping please click here.