In Thua Thien Hue, people are no stranger to the name Tri Hue (or mother Tri Hue, residing in Giap Dong village, Huong Can, Huong Toan, Huong Tra town).

For many years, her home in Giap Dong village has become a familiar address for locals and tourists, especially young people who love the traditional craft of sewing royal pillows.

Her full name is Cong Ton Nu Tri Hue, and as a descendant of the royal family, she was allowed to enter the palace from a young age to learn sewing and embroidery.

According to Tri Hue, the traditional pillow has many folds for folding and opening at will and was often used by kings and mandarins in the past. Pillows are used to support the head, back, and arms while reading, reciting poetry, drinking tea...

Because it is used in royal palaces, people call it a royal pillow.

“To make a pillow, you must first cut a piece of fabric according to the size, then sew it into a square, tear the cotton beam to make it perpendicular and finally sew to connect the pillow into five sections,” said Tri Hue.

Most stages of pillow making are carefully handcrafted by Tri Hue. But the sewing stage of the pillow cover has been replaced with a sewing machine in recent years.

“I still have the strength to keep my job and pass it on, because that's the joy, the reason for living. I have passed the profession on to my daughter-in-law and grandchildren, but I only give them a seven or eight point, because the rest needs my help to finalize," said Tri Hue.

The traditional pillow products from Tri Hur are diverse in color, with bold patterns of palace culture.

The profit from making this type of pillow is not high since it takes a lot of time. In Thua Thien Hue, Tri Hue's family is one of the few keeping the job alive.

To perfect a royal pillow product, three people in the family worked together for three days. Each product on average costs about 1.8 million VND, depending on customer requirements.

Tri Hue’s 69-year-old daughter-in-law Le Thi Hien said that in recent years, the royal pillow has become more known thanks to tourists coming to visit and buying it as a gift. 

Now young people in Thua Thien Hue have connected and promoted via social networks to support the sale of the products.

Quang Thanh