What works for making yarn with plants?

these fibers are x long and therefore no good, but these other fibers are y long and would probably work fine?

Is there a test of strength or flexibility that would tell you something about its suitability?  Other criteria I don't know about?

Or do I just have to try it and see?

Can you mix seed fluff with bast fiber?  If so, is that more tricky than just using one or the other?    

Jan White wrote:I know next to nothing about making yarn from scratch.  Is there an easy way to tell if a plant would be good for the purpose?  I'm thinking mainly about fluffy seeds because they look like wool and are just begging to be used.  I know stem fibers can be used too, but there's a process to get at the fiber and I'm looking for a quick, spend an afternoon playing around kinda project.  With the fluffy stuff can you say, for instance, "these fibers are x long and therefore no good, but these other fibers are y long and would probably work fine?"  Is there a test of strength or flexibility that would tell you something about its suitability?  Other criteria I don't know about?  Or do I just have to try it and see?

Oh, and please excuse tardy responses from me.  I will check back, but I only have access to internet once a week or so these days and lots to do while I'm online. tks

Dave Bennett wrote:If you really want to "test the primitive waters" I would suggest harvesting a basket full of milkweed seed pods while they are still green.  One at a time split them open and begin rolling the white filament between your thumb and index finger discarding the seed.

R Ranson wrote:

You can mix them.  I'm not sure I would suggest it for a beginner project.  

Anthony Dougherty wrote:Has anyone tried sunflower stem? Supposedly there was a native tribe that used sunflower for almost everything, I'm interested in trying it but figured I'd ask if others have tried it first

r ranson wrote:

Anthony Dougherty wrote:Has anyone tried sunflower stem? Supposedly there was a native tribe that used sunflower for almost everything, I'm interested in trying it but figured I'd ask if others have tried it first

I've read that they make an amazing texture.  My sunflowers are 12 feet tall and have thick stems.  I've tried retting the stem, but because the stem is so thick, it took longer than I thought and degraded the fibre.  Maybe pealing the 'bark' and then retting or boiling with some soda ash might do the trick.  It's supposedly very strong.  

I know flax has to be soaked to begin biological breakdown

Anthony Dougherty wrote:Has anyone tried sunflower stem? Supposedly there was a native tribe that used sunflower for almost everything, I'm interested in trying it but figured I'd ask if others have tried it first

r ranson wrote:

Um... soaking is one way to do it.  It's not the only way.   Here's a bit about retting and flax.

Inside the flax straw are golden fibres.  These are the phylum, or circulatory system of the plant (some plants you use a structural element for fibre, like in the case of sisal or jute).  The individual fibres are affixed to the woody pith and the hard outer shell of the flax straw with several types of glue, the most notable is pectin.  Yep, that's the stuff in Jam.

We can remove the fibres through purely mechanical means.  This is most often in modern-day manufacturing (especially hemp).  Some methods also use chemicals to dissolve the glues and make separating the fibres easier.

But the simplest and most natural way of removing the glues is retting.  Retting is basically a kind of controlled rot.  We create an environment where bacteria, fungi, and other invisible beasties eat the glues that hold the fibre in place.  

Water retting - involves submerging the straw in water and inviting anaerobic (dislikes air) bacteria to do the job.  This is quite damaging to waterways and is banned in many places.  If you water ret, please water down the wastewater (1 part wastewater to 10 parts fresh water) to avoid killing plants, fish, or harming humans.  

Dew retting - is a much easier way to ret.  This involves laying the straw on the grass so that the morning dew moistens the straw and invites aerobic (air loving) invisible beasties to come and eat the glues.
(there's a really great book about flax coming out soon that might interest you.)


Soaking is one way, but there are yet others.

For nettles, some people strip the bark (with the fibres) while the plant is green, then process just the bark. It's easier, space saving, and faster.

I think sunflowers would be the same way.  The ones I grew this year have a stem that is 1-6 inches across, so it's difficult to ret the stems evenly.  They are also over 12 feet tall, so I don't know where I could ret more than a handful of stems.  Smaller plants would be easier to water ret.

I've tried soaking and dew retting sunflowers, but so far no luck.  The fibres are there, but they break easily, not like how others describe it.  It could be the time of year, the conditions I'm retting, or more likely, the kind of sunflower I'm working with is too large.


Of course, what works in one location, works differently in another.  The best way to find out what works for you is to experiment.

Ok well please keep me updated! This is something I'm very interested in!

Anthony Dougherty wrote:Has anyone tried sunflower stem? Supposedly there was a native tribe that used sunflower for almost everything, I'm interested in trying it but figured I'd ask if others have tried it first