My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Typha - Cattail, graceful, ribbon grass

Typha

Wedding favour box that I wove from Typha.

Common name

Cattail, graceful, ribbon grass

Origin

New Zealand and Norfolk Island.

Varieties

Colors

Grey green foliage. Flowers spikes have lighter brown male flowers above with a slight gap from the dark brown female flowers below.

Vase life

Fourteen days.

Scent

Uses

The leaves are used in basketry, weaving or adding movement to a design. The fibrous leaves can be ripped (spliced) into thin strips that I then curl, bead or dry. The technique is similar to that of flax

Conditioning

Give the stems a fresh cut and set it in deep warm water. Do not condition if you are weaving or ripping typha

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Here are a few more examples of woven flax. I also use Typha, palm, iris leaves, Kyogi paper, boat orchid leaves and aspidistra to weave with.

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Flax can be ripped into fibres creating long and versatile strips