Sapa Textiles – Vietnam

Sapa in the North West province of Lao Cai, close to the China border, tucked away at an elevation of 1,650 metres in Vietnam’s magnificent mountains region. Far away from the rest of the world, the only way to get there is by long and high mountain passes or an overnight train. Sapa is known for its breathtaking rolling mountains with green rice fields, forests, and its handicraft methods. Sapa is home to many ethnic minority groups (30+), all with their unique style. With our guide, we visited a village of the Hmong minority, herself from this village, to explore some of Sapa textiles.

From fibre to embellishment

To this day, they still produce their clothing almost entirely from their natural surroundings. The  Hmong women’s clothing is distinguished from other groups, recognisable by the dark indigo dyed and bright embroidery. We were informed that an average Hmong woman would produce one set of clothing for her family a year, usually completed by Tet, the Lunar New Year. Design and details are part of storytelling and expression, a time-consuming craft with intricate and unique details which is still practised today. Celebrating their beautiful tradition today and not conforming to modern styles. If you think about it, it is a rather labour-intensive process.

They are genuinely sustainable, from plant to garment; all are grown and produced by them, next to their houses or fields. 

Visiting the villages

After a night on the overnight train, we reached Sapa early in the morning. We spent two days exploring with our guide, starting from Cat cat village to Y Linh Ho village, home to the Hmong people. Then through beautiful scenic nature paths that led us to a beautiful waterfall on day one.

We also did a longer trek on the second day through more villages learning about everyday life in Sapa, starting at Lao Chai onto rice fields. The farmer invited us to have a closer look at what they were doing. From there, we set off to Ta Van, where we were invited to enjoy lunch at a local house, friends of our guide. After lunch, we walked to Giang Ta Chai. This afternoon we were accompanied by a few Hmong ladies, in their beautiful indigo-dyed garments, on route in the same direction as us. It was such a lovely experience as they told us stories about the area and just chatted a bit.

Sapa Textiles

The Sapa textiles of the Hmong minority is a lengthy process, as they not only dye and embellish their clothing but growing the plants for the fibres to weave. Noticeable at many of their homes are fabric hanging to dry and the plants growing in their gardens.

Fibre to fabric

About twice a year, they harvest hemp grown in their backyard, after which they lay it out in the sun to dry. At this point, the long reeds are still very hard and need to be softened to be used as a fibre. They soften it by either flattening it under a millstone or by bending it back and forth by hand. This also loosens the pieces so that long strips or filaments can be torn apart. These filaments are then tied together and spun into a long smooth yarn.  After the yarn is created, they use a handloom to weave the fabric.

Batik & Dye

At this point, the fabric colour is still the natural colour; in the next step, they will either add batik patterns with beeswax for decoration or dye it as a solid piece. Beeswax is melted into a small bowl over heated coals. They use a unique tool similar to a tjanting but with a blade-like point to apply the wax. Beeswax is a resistant medium, meaning it is a dye repellent. It will prevent the area covered with beeswax from dyeing, leaving it in the fabric’s natural tones. They have many different designs inspired by nature and daily life. 

The women not only grow hemp for the fabric but indigo for the natural dye. The indigo plant is harvested between May to July. The green leaves of the indigo plant turn into blue dye through fermentation. They add the leaves with limestone and water into massive wooden barrels a few days before the fabric. After the desired hue is achieved, the fabric is added to the barrel. It can be left for a few days, even up to a week. The fabric is then hung out to dry, and they will repeat this process a few more times to achieve the dark blue, almost black tone. 

The indigo dye in the barrels are a dark blue as is. I peered over the barrel to have a look, and a spatter got onto my white top. Still there.

Sheen

The fabric is then either washed to remove the beeswax or rubbed with a millstone, working the wax into the fabric, creating a beautiful sheen that is also a bit waterproof.

Embellishment

Lastly, the embellishment details are added by hand; no machines are used, making it a time-honoured technique. I spotted a few ladies sitting around the market stitching away. Traditional patterns, mostly inspired by nature such as snail shells, and techniques are passed on from generation to generation; girls learn these from a young age. Hmong didn’t have a written language till only recently, so these motives was a way of expression and even story telling. The fabric is covered with small cross stitches, other embroidery stitches and appliqué; the pieces are seen on their sleeves.

Construction

Lastly, they skillfully sew the beautiful garments together; a woman’s wardrobe would typically consist of a bodice, pants, and various accessories such as ties and jewellery.

The time that goes into each piece of the garment makes it a true art piece.

Up-cycle

Nothing goes to waste either, as they up-cycle as well. Worn clothing are recycled into souvenirs. 

This trip to explore Sapa textiles was so insightful; it was refreshing to see how people still value and celebrate their tradition. They don’t feel the need to follow fast fashion trends, filling wardrobes unnecessary, wasting money, and contributing to a global pollution problem. They embrace their history and adorn themselves with the most beautiful made to measure clothing.

The logistics

Workshops

Try your hand at batik, learning from a master of the trade from the area through Indigo Cat, you can also purchase beautiful bedding and authentic cloth on their online shop. Indigo Cat is a fair-trade handicraft company, started by owner Pang, a local guide who opened the shop and workshop in 2012. It is the first 100% Hmong owned shop in Sapa and all the fabrics are sourced from local artisans.

How to get to Sa Pa

There is three options, either by overnight train or via the highway by bus or private car.

The train does not run all the way to Sapa but to Lao Cai City, 38km away. You have the option of Vietnam Railway or a private luxury rail company, we made use of King Express, with a private berth. The train trip from Hanoi  takes up to 8 hours to arrive in Lao Cai City. You need to reserve your tickets before hand, either by the station or through an agent. They get sold out fast, so make sure to book in the time frame given which is normally 60-90 days before the departure date, and closure of bookings are 2 days before the departure date.

From here you can either pre book with your travel agent a van which takes about 45min or make us of the public bus that takes roughly 1h20min. Suggestion would be to pre-book your seat on the bus before your arrival to Lao Cai.

You can also opt for a bus from Hanoi, the trip takes about 6 hours. The bus companies also have sleeper option, so have a look out for that.

And lastly the most costly but fastest would be to hire a private car, it takes about 4hours to arrive in Sa Pa.

Where to Stay

Depending on your budget Sa Pa has many different options, from hotels in the town to homesteads and eco-lodges. A few to consider would be Maison de Sapa Villa, Eco Hills Homestay, Mega View Homestay, The Little Hmong House, Bamboo Sapa Hotel, Hotel de la Coupole – MGallery, and Topas Ecolodge.

Tours

We booked a tour with Indochina Junk, part of the trip was to Ha Long Bay and Sa Pa.

 

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*Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are my own

 Follow up of the blog Northern Vietnam in  4½ days from 2016.