Online/ Talk / Processing & Spinning
Mitch Frank will present alongside two University of Wisconsin–Madison undergraduate researchers on the varied potential of North American fiber plants. The talk will explore growing, gathering, and processing plants for textile fiber, as well as opportunities to make use of other plant materials and processing byproducts.
Frank will discuss his ongoing research into native North American plants that produce bast fiber with qualities similar to flax and hemp, including approaches to cultivation, responsible gathering, and processing fiber for yarn and textiles. Undergraduate researchers will present two related material studies that look beyond the production of conventional fiber. One project explores the use of woody hurds and shive left after fiber processing to create biocomposite materials. The other investigates native fiber plants as alternative cellulose feedstocks for regenerated fibers.
Together, these projects consider how fiber plants might provide multiple useful material streams and how greater use of perennial and naturally occurring species could expand the range of plants considered for textile and material production.
Blue Star Line is a project by educator and designer Mitch Frank. “Line” is a trade term for the long fibers that can be harvested from the stems of some plants. Line fiber is used to make strong yarn for weaving and knitting.