Plant fibres

Discover the art of weaving with plant fibre! Learn where to find, pick, dry, and prepare a variety of plants for your next creative basketry project.

A remarkable material developed from the fibers of Abacá banana plants with interesting functional, ethical and technical features. #designwanted #design #circulardesign #materialdesign #bananafibers

Making baskets using plants is all dependant on where you live. The climate will have a huge bearing on what you will find growing locally to you.I live in Melbourne, Australia, which is a temperate climate. The plants I collect will be very different from someone living in the tropics or subtropics. Those of us in colder climates can get basket makers envy when we think of warmer spots, and their plentiful palms and vines. Truth is, there are still a wonderful array of plants you can gather…

However through watching the other, dry plant methods, it appears the dry stalks are easier to strip down into the fibers, to the rough rope cordage product. Once the cordage like Sarah made exists, I imagine knitting, crocheting or weaving it into panels.

There is a curiosity in the fiber arts; regardless of age, skill level, or purpose, we want to understand how yarn behaves in our knitted, woven, or crocheted projects. In the last few years, my curiosity has led me to bast fibers and the process it takes

My Creative Workbook

Now Stinging nettles are one of my favourite plants that are utilized in many ways here. Most importantly its one of the biody...

My snake plant was getting overcrowded. I had to repot this spring and decided to pluck off a few leaves to practice making cordage. I’ve never done this before, but remember seeing Bushmen hunters do...

Much like converting flax to linen, Jute is retted -- harvested, defoliated, and soaked in water to allow bacteria to rot away everything but the cellulose fibers, which are then made into twine, rope, and burlap. The plant likes very wet soils and is grown as an alternate crop in rice paddy areas.

When it comes to bast fibers, extracting the usable fiber from the plant can take patience and practice.

Ruth || Creative Teacher on Instagram: "Using plant fibre to making string is so satisfying - i talk more about this in my book Finding Form with Fibre and in my Baskets from the Garden online workshop."

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Let's get our geek on! Here is a look at the science of working with yarn made from plant fibers.

It's the right time of year to harvest stinging nettles for yarn purposes. Anyone up for a Nettle-A-Long?.

Growing and Preparing Flax for Spinning – Fiadnata's Notebook

Flax harvest

Suzie Grieve | What a surprisingly nice fibre ! Thank you @foraged_from_nature for having such a beautifully creative mind and thinking to try banana... | Instagram

Posts about daffodil leaves written by Flextiles

In a world of increasing mass production, where nearly all raw material is shipped to be processed in other countries, the most sustainable option may well be already growing in your own back yard. Or, at least be possible to grow in your own back yard or garden. While keeping clothing in circulation and good ... Read More about Sustainable Clothing: Growing Your Own Plant Fibers