Since spring, I have been growing molokhia in a corner of the field. Not to eat, though. I learned that molokhia fiber can be used to make yarn, and that made me want to grow the plant myself and find out what it can really do.
The plant known as molokhia, Corchorus olitorius, has also long been used as a source of jute fiber. Kew’s “Plants of the World Online” likewise lists it as a plant used for fiber (jute). We usually think of molokhia as a vegetable, but from another point of view, its stems hold the possibility of becoming yarn and cloth.
Molokhia Fiber Plants Have Grown to About One Meter
The molokhia planted in spring had grown to about one meter tall by August. Many stems rise from the base, forming quite substantial plants. Some stems have a slight reddish tint, and on closer inspection, flowers are beginning to open as well.
At this size, I cannot help thinking, “Maybe it is time to cut some?” But this time I decided to let the plants grow a little longer. The goal is not to harvest as much as possible. I want to see what kind of fiber comes from stems at different stages of growth.
- Does the bark peel differently from young stems and mature stems?
- What kind of fiber will retting produce?
- And can that fiber actually be spun into yarn?
I want to test these questions one by one.
From a Vegetable Field to a Fiber Field
Plants are fascinating. Something I had always thought of as “food” begins to look like a source of yarn as soon as I change my point of view. Even while the plants are still growing in the field, I start imagining the yarn and cloth that might come next.
The place where we grow dye plants and fiber plants ourselves is the “Hitotsuya（ひとつ屋） Textile Farm”. Here, too, molokhia is being grown not for food but as an experimental crop for harvesting fiber.
We still do not know what kind of molokhia fiber these plants will yield.
- Will it become clean, long fiber?
- Will the fiber be somewhat stiff?
- Will it be suitable for hand spinning?
- Or will it turn out quite differently from what I imagined?
There is no way to know without actually trying.
So I am going to let the plants grow a little longer.
As more flowers appear and the stems continue to mature, I plan to harvest them several times at different stages and compare the fibers.
Molokhia Fiber | From the Field to Yarn
The molokhia experiment has only just begun. What kind of yarn might emerge from this green thicket? I am already very curious to find out.