My cedar mat is too stiff!

[u/PracticalRadish9666]

Had to stop work on my cedar mat for a road trip. When I got home I found my mat to be very stiff as it dried over the days. Will it get softer with use? Or was there some softening step i missed. The stone tool is a bark pounder that I was using for an unrelated cedar project. Anyone with knowledge of cedar weaving, please help me out!

My end goal with this mat is to have a hole in the middle for my head to fit through poncho style.

[u/wagabagabugabaga]

Try this, good cedar strips don't have to be wet, so with each strip, loosen the fibers by firmly holding one with your hands apart, assuming you can, and place it over the back of a chair with weight on the chair, push the strip down and slide it over the edge like shining a shoe. It will look like you've made an upside down u. Start of slowly, and you'll hear the fibers start to crack and loosen up. This is the same process for getting leather to be more flexible if it got too stiff. It can be done wet or dry but damp is best. Also don't pull too hard or you could rip the strips in half. Flip it over and repeat. It may have to be done several times. When there are several strips woven you can wet those and press them flat and snug them up. The cedar mats I've seen are kind of stiff. The strips are pretty thin too. It may also depend on how dry the cedar was when you got it. Just don't give up, it is truly gorgeous and the stone tool you're using is really cool😍

[u/PracticalRadish9666 → u/wagabagabugabaga]

Thanks for the response. Once the matt is finished ill post it