Montreal Napkin Rings

Handmade Set of 6 Napkin Rings in a Basket 12”x3”.

This product is made by Swazi Women and facilitated by Gone Rural, a WFTO certified Fair Trade Organization.  The Women harvest the “Lutindzi” grass once a year in February.  The grass is plucked from the sheath leaving the root intact for next year’s growth.  The women dry the grass outside before bundling it and selling it.  The bundles of grass are transformed into beautiful colors in fuel-efficient dye vats and then laid out to dry in rows under the African Sun. 

This product is made from sisal fiber, which is collected by the women from the fleshy leaves of the sisal tree. The sisal fiber is washed and dyed at our workshop before being given back to the women who make the finished product. The women separate the tangled fibre and spin it into a long loose twine using their hand and thigh. They then knit the sisal to make the required size of textile. To create the decorative embroidery they knit a length of sisal chain stitch, which is then hand sewn onto the textile following a template.