Lotus weaving on Inle lake in Myanmar. Fabrics derived from lotus fibre are strong, soft and to put it succinctly, it takes a long long time to make one simple scarf.

The fabric is a simple weave, either a plane or a twill weave. But it is the thread that is the time consuming aspect of this fabric. The actual thread is made from the slimy stalk of the lotus leaf. It is is broken and then pulled, the fiber is then hand twisted into a thread. One simple scarf will take about 20 days to produce enough thread and will set you back about US$100.