Lotus fibre is extracted from lotus stems through a process of cutting, twisting, and drawing thin filaments together into threads. The threads are then spun into yarn and woven using a Cambodian loom into fabric without a warp beam. Over 120,000 lotus stems are needed to weave enough fabric for a single costume. Lotus fibre is breathable, soft, and crease resistant like linen or raw silk. However, extracting, spinning, and weaving the fibre by hand makes it a time-consuming and expensive process.