Lilac silk

Island of Karte by Naelin

In the Kartian tradition, people gift their loved ones narrow strips of colorful special fabric to signify and remind them of the bond they share.
The ribbons are tied around extremities, sometimes several of them on each, as decoration and as an expression of their love for the people in their lives.
Ribbons of special materials or quality are sometimes gifted to give more specific messages, the most common being strips of curated, highly expensive lilac silk being used to represent a permanent bond between lovers, and the intention to become a family together.
The lilac silk is a rare, expensive vegetable fiber that comes from the homonimous plant found only in the wild, deep into the Chalk Expanse jungle in the north of the Karte Island.
This white plant lives in the swampy, humid areas of the jungle and produces wide leaves and flowers supported by thick fibrous stems. The stems are filled with long, soft and slightly elastic fibres that can be turned into threads.
Once dried, the threads have a characteristic lilac colour and sheen that makes them very attractive to the view.

Harvesting

Being a white plant that lives in such specific conditions, the lilac silk plant is found only in the wild in difficult-to-reach areas of the jungle. The plants are also protected for their rarity and require sustainable harvesting practices.
Special roads have been made in the jungle to reach the swamps, with some outposts on the way for the workers to come and go from the main touristic roads.
Harvesting of the plants is laborious, and the extraction of the fibres has to be made within tight time limits that force the weavers to spend most of their time on the outpost, all conditions that play into the astronomical price of the silk.

The products

Fabric made out of lilac silk threads are at the same time lustrous and slightly rough-textured to the view, soft, breathable and durable.
The silk is very expensive, and its use is mostly relegated to special bonding ribbons, that are generally woven with patterns or borders of other colours or may have personalized designs to them.
Some people, especially wealthy individuals, gift their significant other an entire piece of clothing made out of the silk, the most coveted items being full-body capes whose sheen, light weight and breathability make them ideal for the hot Kartian climate.

Type

Textile

Color

Pale lilac