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The processing of hemp

The processing of hemp, once widespread in the Lake Como area, followed a long artisanal process from planting to weaving. Used to produce household linens, hemp was harvested, retted, dried, gramulated, combed and finally spun and woven, involving the entire rural community.

For centuries hemp has been cultivated throughout the Larian territory, wherever environmental conditions made it possible to sow it. Such material was mostly used to weave the linens personal and household.

The cultivation of hemp

According to tradition hemp was sown between April and May, only on the wettest soils. It was done by scattering, that is, with copious handfuls spread over the growing medium. During growth the plants had to be tended and cleared of other smothering herbaceous plants.

Harvesting took place between July and August, and only the "male" hemp was weeded. The "females" were left on the ground to obtain, in October, seeds useful for the following year.

The harvested plants were gathered in bundles, or bunches, also called mannelli, stacked on top of each other in large holes that were filled with water. Here the hemp macerated, and the fibrous stalks that made up its stem became easier to separate. The duration of maceration depended on various factors, especially atmospheric ones.

Early hemp processing

At the end of the process, the bundles were dried and gathered in sheaves sheltered from the rain for several weeks. When the drying was finished, the fibers were separated from the woody parts with the use of the gramola.

La gramola was a tool shaped like a trestle, with four legs divided two on each side and joined by a central axis. Here the hemp stems were broken and mangled to be made more flexible. They were then beaten with a spatula on a wooden board to remove the last remaining hard particles.

The final stage of hemp processing

Finally, the hairdo, to rid the fibers of the last impurities. This operation was often carried out by women who, while seated, held the comb between the knees holding it fixed to the ground with one foot, and passed between the teeth hemp fibers. Once the desired size was reached, the material was spun with a spindle, a rhomboid-shaped object usually made of wood around which the thread was wrapped.

The production waste was called tow, which was too short to be spun, was still used for various purposes. The yarn, on the other hand, was wound into skeins and simmered; when the boiling was finished, the skeins were cooled in cold water and spread out for drying. Once dried, the yarn was ready for the final stage, weaving.