Unique in Viet Nam – Silk weaving from lotus silk by the hands of Artisan Phan Thi Thuan

Elite Artisan Pham Thi Thuan and her product made from lotus silk.

Enthusiastic about silk weaving…

From an early age, she was exposed to mulberry leaves, cocoons, silkworms, and the sound of looms.

At the age of 6, she knew how to pick mulberries to raise silkworms and when she grew up, she was taught by her family, so she became more attached to and loved the traditional craft of her homeland and family.

She always explores, researches and finds new directions to develop mulberry farming, silkworm rearing and silk weaving; finds outputs for products and creates new products, ensures quality, affordable prices and suits the needs of domestic and international markets.

With a love for the profession, the Elite Artisan Phan Thi Thuan actively researched and found a way out for the cocoon; studied the silkworm's ability to release silk and invested a lot of effort, experience and made many products from silk.

In 2000, she established the company to expand production scale and export to many countries around the world, such as Saudi Arabia, Japan, UK, Germany, USA, Italy, Thailand,... Her products are made and sold out, with orders mainly exported to foreign countries.

She created cotton blankets made by silkworms; produced many high-quality pillows and blankets, or warm hats, 100% silk winter coats that are popular with customers. She also directly instructed how to raise silkworms with high yield and good quality, and organized the purchase of silkworms for farmers at high prices to stimulate them to enthusiastically produce and increase their family's income.

To develop the profession to a new high level…

In 2017, Ms. Thuan first started researching to make lotus silk, but the first product was not satisfied after evaluating through the process of use.

Silk is made from lotus.

Ms. Thuan shared: “Two years later, the lotus silk product was completed and put on the market.

However, to make a silk scarf made from lotus silk which is very smooth and especially pure, which no other silk can match, each product made from lotus silk takes a lot of work, effort and time, therefore only silk connoisseurs dare to use or order to buy”.

Due to manual work, a hard worker can only make 200-250 stalks per day. To make enough silk for a scarf, it takes 4,800 lotus stalks. But the stages of creating lotus silk thread are very sophisticated.

After being removed from the lagoon, the lotus stem must be washed twice to clean the mud and thorns, to ensure clean and beautiful silk.

To get the lotus silk, the artisan must use a small knife, gently cut around the lotus stem, because if it is too deep, it will break the silk inside. Then, gently twist and pull the silk, making the lotus thread compact.

Therefore, in order to have soft lotus silk threads which are woven into delicate, soft and luxurious towels, it requires artisans to be very delicate, skillful and meticulous for many days.

The final product made from hardworking.

Each lotus stem is put into a tank to wash the mud and remove all its spines to facilitate the spinning process.

An average laborer a day can cut and spin from 300 petioles to a silk thread about 300m long.

Depending on the thickness, a towel woven with lotus silk takes at least 1,500 to 4,000 petioles or more.

The material of the towel is made from lotus silk which is warm, airy and light and the soft silk fibers also have a slight scent of lotus, which is why lotus silk is known as a jewel in the world of silk.

To the dream of the craft village to take off and reach out…

Enthusiastic about the profession, going through many ups and downs, up to now, Elite Artisan Phan Thi Thuan is considered as one of the few artisans still clinging to silk weaving in Phung Xa village. Products produced by artisan Phan Thi Thuan have created a domestic and international brand mark. In particular, lotus silk products have been exported to many parts of the world.

Lotus silk products are of high quality, well received by the market, but for further development, Elite Artisan Phan Thi Thuan still has to face many difficulties such as Lotus only has a season, so silk is still seasonal.

Artisan Pham Thi Thuan guided the traditional weaving skills to the young generation.

The production stages are mainly done by hand, so weaving lotus silk takes a lot of time.

She wished that Ha Noi City, My Duc district and functional industries would have specific orientations for the building of the lotus silk brand in My Duc district, support the promotion of products so that lotus silk weaving could take off and further develop.

Recently, Mrs. Thuan hatched new plans for the craft village. She shared passionately: “I want to combine a closed circle between raising silkworms, growing lotuses, raising fish, and weaving silk to protect the environment. More projects will create more jobs for many people.”

In lotus silk, there is softness and subtle fragrance of lotus - the smell of the homeland. Lotus silk is known as the most precious jewel in the world of fabrics. The diligence and meticulousness of Mrs. Thuan has brought a new wind to Vietnamese silk, hopefully, in the not too distant future, Vietnamese lotus silk will be marked in the world.

It is not only the value of creativity of people who are always concerned with the traditional profession of their ancestors, but it is also the inspiration and love for future generations about the quintessence of Vietnamese culture.

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