Vietnamese traditional techniques for natural fiber processing

Woven baskets are seen easily in the streets of Vietnam. However, even as a native, I was not aware of the differences in the techniques that made each of those baskets unique until I worked as a basketry designer. Pardon me for my reckless. I am going to make compentation for the lovely national property of ours in this note.

---

Through my pratice, I observe that there are basically four techniques turning natural grasses into ready-to-weave fibers.

1, Spliting (Chẻ)

Spliting is used for long and hollow grasses such as seidge family - seagrass and lepironia. The purpose is to flatten and soften the fiber to make them endurable enough for weaving.

This technique is suitable for decorative objects which do not need to have a strong structure. It is often spotted in placemats, cup holders, napkin rings, lampshades, etc.

In my opinion, artisans in Ninh Binh province are the ones who are the most ingenious with spliting fibers. However, seagrass is mainly planted in Thanh Hoa province while lepironia is more popular in the South of Vietnam.

Left to right: Splited seagrass and splited lepironia

2, Braiding (Bện)

Braiding is absolutely a highly recommendation if one wants to strengthen the orginal materials and widen the fibers. Actually, it goes well with a vast type of materials such as seagrass, water hyacinth, corn husks and palm leaves.

Artisans love to use the wide braided fibers as they help to reduce the production time of some large pieces. Therefore, we can see braided knots in types of rugs and runners as well as large storage baskets and hampers.

Left to right: Braided corn husks, a mix of seagrass and corn husks and a mix of water hyacinth and corn husks.

3, Twisting (Se)

Twisting is prefer if there is a need for flexible and thin fibers. It has a common with braiding in the ability to adapt to different grass stem plants and natural fibers.

In comparision with its two sibblings above, its consistency may be at the middle point.

It can be seen in both decorative products and functional storages and accent furniture pieces.

This technique is well accomplished by artisans of Nga Son, Thanh Hoa province, whose products is known for their organic or kind of 'wabi sabi' forms.

Splited seagrass (natural green) and splited palm leaves (natural beige)

4, Coiling (Vặn/ Quấn)

Coiling is used to make tubular fibers. There are two types of coiled fibers.

The first one is coiled with only one type of material. It's often seen with low cost materials such as seagrass and water hyacinth.

The second one has two layers of materials. The core part is filled with low cost one while the out side is cover by more premium materials such as palm leaves or banana fiber.

Coiling may bring to the table kind of robust and rustic feelings.

Left to right: Coiled seagrass, water hyacinth, palm leaves and a mix of water hyacinth and palm leaves.

---

From the basic techniques above, Vietnamese artisans use their creativity to create various of patterns which can be applied in several handicraft product lines. I hope this note can open a door for anyone who desires to learn about the topic.

Thank you for reading.