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Meeting 6 : Kudzu Vine to Cloth Camp

“Kudzu doesn't need to form a xylem, because it supports itself by clinging to other trees.” — Oigawa Kudzu-fu Weaving Studio A group of us...
Meeting 6 : Kudzu Vine to Cloth Camp

“Kudzu doesn't need to form a xylem, because it supports itself by clinging to other trees.”

— Oigawa Kudzu-fu Weaving Studio

A group of us fiber folks gathered over August 5-8th at LB’s farmhouse in Marshall, NC for our second collaborative kudzu vine camp.

First, we harvested kudzu and discussed vine and site selection. The best vines grow near pavement or gravel roads and grow straight along the clearing. This allows for an untangled harvesting process. You can collect a group of vines, twist them together, and cut them at a point of resistance. It is best to cut vines at the length of your arms outspread at the least. It is best to collect vines without advantageous roots that can cause breaks in the bast fiber.

Next, we rinsed pre-retted vats of kudzu vine and separated the bast from the core. We also experimented with boiling instead of retting, for a less smelly, but less passive alternative to fermenting vines for fiber processing.

After, we collected and washed our fiber we began to hackle and card the fresh fibers. This year we did not prioritize spinning the fiber, because we borrowed a Saori floor loom that we dressed with a hemp warp for weaving kudzu cloth. We hope to partner with hemp mills to process kudzu fiber at a larger scale in the near future.

We incorporated naturally dyed kudzu fiber in with the raw fiber and loved the lustrous results of our first piece of kudzu cloth yardage. Collectively, we wove approximately 2 meters together during our 4 day kudzu vine camp. Others wove on the tapestry looms and created 100% kudzu cloth and wool and kudzu combinations.

See you in the weeds,

x Nica