Exploration of the Feasibility of Hops as a Textile Material
Additional Funding Sources
The project described was supported by a student grant from the UI Office of Undergraduate Research and the CALS Dean's Excellence Fund, Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences Student Professional Development Fund.
Abstract
Beer is made using hops cones that are grown on long, fiber-rich stalks called bines. During harvest, hops cones are collected, and bines are mulched and composted. This byproduct creates an excess of waste that the growers could put towards something of value.
Hops fibers have been used as a substitute for flax and hemp. It has been explored as a textile in Germany, and there are at least two museum exhibits in Sweden with woven hops textiles from the 18th century. Currently, there is a lack of hops textile production for woven and nonwoven materials.
The goal of this research project is to reintroduce hops fiber back into the textile industry. I will accomplish this by investigating its nonwoven and woven properties through various chemical and mechanical processes.
This research project found that hops bines can be used as a nonwoven material to make a papersheet with chemical processing. Machinery was fabricated in preparation for mechanically processing bines for a woven material. Fibers are needed to spin yarn for weaving. 2019 harvest bines were too dry and brittle to mechanically process, so cattails were processed to test the machine. Investigation will continue after 2020 harvest.
Exploration of the Feasibility of Hops as a Textile Material
Beer is made using hops cones that are grown on long, fiber-rich stalks called bines. During harvest, hops cones are collected, and bines are mulched and composted. This byproduct creates an excess of waste that the growers could put towards something of value.
Hops fibers have been used as a substitute for flax and hemp. It has been explored as a textile in Germany, and there are at least two museum exhibits in Sweden with woven hops textiles from the 18th century. Currently, there is a lack of hops textile production for woven and nonwoven materials.
The goal of this research project is to reintroduce hops fiber back into the textile industry. I will accomplish this by investigating its nonwoven and woven properties through various chemical and mechanical processes.
This research project found that hops bines can be used as a nonwoven material to make a papersheet with chemical processing. Machinery was fabricated in preparation for mechanically processing bines for a woven material. Fibers are needed to spin yarn for weaving. 2019 harvest bines were too dry and brittle to mechanically process, so cattails were processed to test the machine. Investigation will continue after 2020 harvest.