Bananas for fibers
 

Hello my name is Di, I'm new to bananas.org. I couldn't figure out how to post properly to the introduction section,(new thread?, as a reply?)so this is both an introduction and a question. I am a fiber artist living in North Alabama,zone 7a, and interested in growing the largest and most fibrous pseudostem's possible yearly for the hand production of textiles. I am interested to know from others which banana varieties they find have the most fibrous stems when cut down and which have the potential for largest growth in my region. Germinating from seed M. Balbisiana and M. textilis in progress. But apparently the fibers from dessert bananas i.e. Cavendish and Lakatan are particularly well-suited for production of clothing grade textiles. Surely, there are others. I'm interested in all grades of banana fiber fine to coarse and would welcome all your feedback. Thank you for having me and for your help.

Re: Bananas for fibers
 

I know that along Ryukyu Islands in South Japan............and in Taiwan........people have develop very nice clothes with Banana Fiber...............such Kavalan people from Taiwan............

Here are a few links........

Digital Museum of Taiwan Indigenous Peoples

Discussing banana plants | Trebrown Nurseries Blog


I don´t know if it is what you are searching for........???

Maybe Basjoo have some Fiber potential.......???

Re: Bananas for fibers
 

I think the common name for basjoo is actually Japanese Fiber Banana
Don't know what that means for using them for crafts but it might be a start
Plus they'll overwinter in zone 7a which will help too :nanadrink:

Re: Bananas for fibers
 

Thanks for the feedback guys, it is much appreciated. I have a basjoo growing to test for myself because of the name. I cannot find any reference to its qualities. The fiber banana used in the Ryukyu islands is M.balbisiana or 'Basho' for bashofu (banana cloth) the M. Basjoo is more correctly called ' False Japanese fiber banana ' thought to be actually Chinese in origin according to my research. I am trying to grow all the commonly grown 'fiber bananas' (balbisiana,textilis, enset, Cavendish, looking for Lakatan) Having been bitten by the banana bug I just wanted to maybe choose varieties for eating that will give me both good fruit and a good amount of fiber. I would assume that the bigger,wind resistant, sturdy bananas like Saba would have a good amount of fiber but I figure experienced cultivators would have encountered the fiber when cutting down the different pseudostems. Sincere thanks again.

Re: Bananas for fibers
 

I have a special intrest in Thousand Fingers.................and this species seems to be very resistant............

I live in São Paulo city at 900-1000 from Sea level.................and we have a well defined winter period.............

The Thousand Fingers do very well............while few common Brazilian species suffer a lot here.............

The leaves fibers seems to be very strong.............despite the fact that I never collect a Pstem...............

My Plant is very young..............it have one year..................




I gonna check the Pstem fiber potential when I remove one.................

Re: Bananas for fibers
 

Thanks so much Yuri, that's just the kind of information I need. I look forward to hearing what you have to say about the fibers.

Re: Bananas for fibers
 

Do you have a kind of brief tutorial............or a kind of step by step............about how to do to collect and dry the fibers.............???

Something like how to cut the Pstem properly...............wash or not..........how to dry the fibers.........etc..........

???

I don´t know what to do...........

Re: Bananas for fibers
 

Yuri, the following links give an overview of how the fiber extraction is done but I was just thinking that you might encounter the fibers as you chop up the stem in a more casual way.
Making Abaca | How sinamay is harvested

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4C4d8OkYs

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ9v6u3yoVc

Turn down the volume on the last one it is terribly loud

but if you strip one of the onion like layers from the pseudostem, then slip a knife in between the two sides you can peel away the little fibers that you see as dots along the cut edge of the strip and get a rough idea of their fineness and strength. Thanks for trying this!

Re: Bananas for fibers
 

I'd beat the pulp out with a stick and then wash and dry it. Never tried it though...