Article # 16...Fabric from Milk!?
Textiles fascinate me. The act of weaving
is one of humankind's earliest crafts. Early
in our history reeds, grasses and bark were
cut into strips and woven to create mats,
baskets and cords. Curiosity compels the
human species to explore and experiment.
Some of these experiments lead to great successes
and some fell by the wayside. I was doing
research on fabrics popular during the WWII
era and stumbled across some interesting
fabrics I had never heard about or knew little
of. Just for fun I would like to share some
of the info I learned.
The first and most interesting is a fabric
made from Casein. Casein is a protein and
a by-product of skimmed milk. It has been
used for hundreds of years as a paint binder.
In 1937 the Atlantic Research Associates
team started experimenting with using casien
to produce usable fibers. By 1940 fibers
made from casein were being blended with
rabbit fur to make the felt used in hats.
Shortly it was found to blend well with many
other fibers and added a soft draping quality
to the resulting material. The fibers took
dye beautifully and also added resilience
to the fabrics created. The surface of the
threads was smooth (similar to rayon) but
more durable and had elasticity. It ended
up being used in both woven and knit fabrics.
I did a quick search on the Internet and
could find no reference to modern Casein
fabrics. I looked through my more modern
textile books (from the 1970s on) and still
found no reference so it is a mystery to
me why this interesting fiber is no longer
used.
The next fiber I found intriguing was from
the soybean. In 1937 after promise of success
was reported with the use of casein, experimentation
was begun with soy protein. The resulting
fiber was soft and resilient and had a fine
denier. It blended well with wool and was
used for suiting and upholstery fabrics.
My resource book was written in 1947 and
spoke with high expectations for the soybean
fiber and its future possibilities "for
blends with cotton and spun rayon to develop
interesting fabrics with new and additional
features" (Bendure and Pfeiffer, Americas
Fabrics, the Macmillan Company, 1947). Soybean
fibers ARE being used today although not
extensively. I was able to find quite a number
of references. One source touted soy fibers
as being environmentally friendly and having
the softness of cashmere.
Some other lesser-known fibers I learned
more about were hemp, ramie and true bark
cloth.
Most recognizable to me was hemp (the Cannabis
Sativa plant). If it were not for the political
controversies around the growing of hemp
I think these fabrics would be in much wider
use today. The plant itself is prolific,
cheap and easy to grow and the fibers are
incredibly versatile. They can be used to
create fine fabric as well as a myriad of
industrial textiles, rope and twine being
the most common. I also learned that hemp
oil could easily be one of our better source
ingredients for bio-fuel (an alternative
to petroleum). How sad this incredible resource
has been held back, especially with the growing
need for environmentally renewable products
Ramie is another little known plant fiber
I found mentioned in my 1940s textile book.
Ramie comes from a plant similar to the stinging
nettle and is used to create a linen-like
cloth. I do recall ramie being used in the
1980s for knitwear (sweaters) as well as
woven goods. It resembles a cross between
linen and cotton. I found it to be very sturdy
and durable. I have not seen ramie used in
a while
Did you know that true bark cloth was actually
made from real bark? Kapa, tapa or bark cloth
originally was made from the inner bark of
certain sapling trees the finest coming from
the wauke plant. The felt-like fabric was
created and used by the Hawaiian and Polynesians
mainly for clothing. I found numerous references
on the Internet to this wonderful textile
the url here will take you to one of my favorite
http://coffeetimes.com/kapa2.htm.
.
I am sure there are many other fabrics that
have come from unusual materials. I most
likely have only scratched the surface!