Friday, 2 July 2010

Nature Fiber - Ramie 剑麻


Native to East Asia and commonly know as China-grass, ramie ( Boehmeria nivea ) is a flowering plant of the nettle family. Its bark has been used for millennia to make twine and thread, and spun as grass-cloth.
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Coarse ramie fibers are suitable for making twine, rope and nets. Wet-spun, it produces a fine yarn with high luster, suitable for a wide range of garments, ranging from dresses to jeans.
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Fabrics of 100% ramie are lightweight and silky, similar in appearance to linen. The Korean traditional costume, the ramie hanbok, is renowned for its fineness.
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However, since it has low elasticity and resilience, ramie is usually blended with other textile fibers. It increases the luster and strength of cotton fiber and reduces shrinkage in wool blends. It is also blended with silk.


The ramie plant is grown for fiber mainly in China, Brazil, the Lao PDR and the Philippines. Wile it is considered a promising ecological fiber for use in textiles industry, fiber extraction and cleaning is difficult and labour-intensive.
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http://www.naturalfibres2009.org



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