[Moo] Next Monday - Asian Nights: Waraji

[Ii Saburou Katsumori (Joshua B.)]

On 4/3/06, Sue Bowen <celta2farrah at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> I have linen cord to bring in addition to cotton cord. My question is  -
> what can I substitute for raffia? I have a great deal of fiber at home, you
> see. Wood bark in strips? I have a selection to choose from. Regular hay? I
> have old bales. I also have pieces of linen previously woven.
>
For anyone else who is interested, I don't recommend hay--the straws
are generally not flexible enough.  A type of grass is more
appropriate (raffia works because it is long and fiberous--and it
appears to have been a choice by at least the Edo period, and seems to
make a decent approximation of what we see earlier).  Rice plants are
the most appropriate (the term 'straw' should probably be avoided in
this instance).

If you don't have raffia, I'll have some available here. 
Alternatively, I've used any type of cord, as that works as well. 
I've heard that they may have used rope of either rice straw or even
silk, hemp, or cotton, but I haven't found proof.  Nonetheless, it can
teach the technique required without necessarily having the materials
on hand.


-Ii