I have considerable experience making two-ply finger-twisted and thigh-rolled "primitive" cordage using the bast fibers from milkweed, dogbane, and nettle species. I would like to find the most efficient way to process these fibers in large quantity for spinning with a spindle or a wheel, because I have always been impressed by the quality of the fiber of these species, which seems to me equal to flax in strength and appearance, and I would like to weave quantities of cloth with these wild fibers. I would, therefore, like to correspond with anyone who has insights. I have read the article on the processing and use of milkweed fiber that appeared in Spin-Off a few years ago. I have grown flax this year, and am making the equipment necessary to process that fiber. Obviously, one possibility for the wild bast fibers is to treat the plants as for flax--retting, skutching, hackling, etc. Has anyone done this? Has anyone experimented with treating milkweed fibers with lye (as described in the Spin-Off article) to clean out the latex?

Jeff Bickart, jbickart@sterlingcollege.edu