Hi guys! So another term has already begun in LCFS Hanoi! And before
we are getting super busy once again with our final project, Ms. May Cortazzi
has organized a trip for us to relax and prepare to fight! As well as to
increase our knowledge on one of the finest kind of fabric – silk. And our
destination was no other than the oldest silk village in the east side of Hanoi
– Van Phuc, Ha Dong village.
The
first place we visited was a traditional household called Trieu Van Mao where
we learnt all about the long process of making silk. The cycle begins in summer
and takes a whole year to complete. It all starts when a special type of
butterfly lays eggs. Each butterfly can lay up to 400 eggs which take about 10
day to hatch. The villager raise the worm with Dau leaves for 4 to 6 weeks till
they start to release silk thread, wrapping around themselves to create cocoons
in approximately 4 days. Naturally, it takes around 10 days for the butterflies
will break their cocoons, but nowadays, to speed up the process, villagers boil
the cocoons and collect the silk threads right after the worms stop releasing
threads. The boiled worms will be sold in the market as a Vietnamese traditional
food (they are actually quite tasty and nutritious.) Villagers then untwine cocoons
using a homemade wooden machine. The silk threads now are ready to dye and wrap
into rolls, preparing for the next step.
Silky cocoons
Wooden machine to separate silk threads
Silk thread then get twined into rolls
Weaving machine
Pattern cards
Beautiful silks are on the way!
The next stage of the process begins in autumn when villagers
start weaving fabric. They use a weaving machine with pattern cards to weave
their silk. The pattern cards help creating patterns on the fabric.
After the lesson, we got to do some shopping! The 3 most
popular silk fabrics are 100% silk, silk with visco blend and silk with hemp
blend. The silks products are great. Villagers use their fabrics to produce
clothes and house decorations which not only look beautiful but also have
superb quality.
And the gorgeous final products!
An absolutely amazing trip that we couldn’t have asked for
more! It was knowledgeable as well as enjoyable. We totally had a blast! So if
you are looking for some beautiful silk for your project, you know where to get
them! Lastly, stay in tuned to see our final projects, some of them will be
made with the silk we got!
Direction to Van Phuc Village
