Ramie - The Fabric

Ramie Plant

Ramie

Ramie (pronounced Ray-me) is one of the oldest vegetable fibers and has been used for thousands of years. It was used in mummy cloths in Egypt during the period 5000 - 3000 BC, and has been grown in China for many centuries.

Ramie (Boehmeria nivea), commonly known as China grass, white ramie, green ramie and rhea, is one of the group referred to as the bast fiber crops. The ramie plant is a hardy perennial belonging to the Urticaceae or Nettle family, which can be harvested up to 6 times a year. It produces a large number of unbranched stems from underground rhizomes and has a crop life from 6 to 20 years. The fibres need chemical treatment to remove the gums and pectins found in the bark.

The process of transforming the ramie fibres into fabric is similar to the process used for manufacturing linen from flax. The true ramie or ‘China Grass’ is also known as ‘white ramie’ and is the Chinese cultivated plant. It has large heart shaped, crenate leaves covered on the underside with white hairs that give it a silvery appearance. Boehmeria nivea var. tenacissima, is believed to have originated in the Malay Peninusula and is known as ‘green ramie’ or ‘rhea’. Green ramie has smaller leaves than true ramie and is better suited to tropical climates.

The fibre is very fine like silk, and being naturally white in colour does not need bleaching.

Long before cotton was introduced in the Far East, it was used for Chinese burial shrouds over 2,000 years ago. Ramie’s popularity increased in the mid 1980s with a fashion emphasis on natural fibres.

Chemically ramie is classified as a cellulose fibre, just as cotton, linen, and rayon. The leading global producers of ramie are China, Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines and Brazil. Ramie is often blended with cotton to make woven and knit fabrics that resemble fine linen to coarse canvas. Ramie is commonly used in clothing, tablecloths, napkins and handkerchiefs. It is often blended with cotton in knit sweaters. Outside the clothing industry, ramie is used in fish nets, canvas, upholstery fabrics, straw hats and fire hoses.

Within the clothing and textile industry ramie has the following advantages and disadvantages:

Ramie hat

Advantages of Ramie

• Resistant to bacteria, mildew, alkalis, rotting, light and insect attack.
• Extremely absorbent (this makes it comfortable to wear)
• Dyes fairly easy.
• Natural stain resistance.
• Increases in strength when wet.
• Withstands high water temperatures during laundering.
• Smooth lustrous appearance improves with washing.
• Keeps its shape and does not shrink.
• Strong and durable (It is reported to have a tensile strength eight times that of cotton and seven times greater than silk).
• Can be bleached.

Disadvantages of Ramie

• Low in elasticity.
• Lacks resiliency.
• Low abrasion resistance.
• Wrinkles easily.
• Stiff and brittle.
• Necessary de-gumming process.
• High cost (due to high labour requirement in production, harvesting and decortication.)

The main producers of ramie today are China, Brazil, Philippines, India, South

Garment made of Ramie

Korea and Thailand. Only a small percentage of the

ramie produced is available on the international market. Japan, Germany, France and the UK are the main importers, the remaining supply is used domestically (in the country in which it is produced).

RAMIE AS A BLEND

Ramie is most often blended (common is 55% ramie/45% cotton) with other fibres for its unique strength and absorbency, lustre and dye-affinity. For example,

• Blended with cotton, results in increased lustre, strength and colour.
• Blended with wool, results in lightness and minimises shrinkage.
• Blended with rayon, results in higher wet strength.

Applications

• Apparel dresses, suits, skirts, jackets, pants, blouses, shirts, children wear, mixed with cotton in knitted
  

  sweaters

• Home Fashion curtains, draperies, upholstery, bedspreads, table linens, sheets, dish towels
• Sewing threads
• Handkerchiefs
• Parachute fabrics
• Woven fire hoses
• Narrow weaving
• Canvas
• Filter cloth
• When used in a mixture with wool, shrinkage is reported tobe greatly reduced when compared with pure wool.
• Short waste fibers are used for the production of high quality papers, such as bank notes & cigarette papers.
• As ramie takes up phosphorous, it is potentially useful for cleaning up the Everglades. This region suffers from a nutrient overload from the sugar industry.

Ramie as a Blend

Ramie is most often blended (common is 55% ramie/45% cotton) with other fibers for its unique strength and absorbency, luster and dye-affinity. When blended with high-quality cotton it offers increased luster, strength and color.

Ramie yarns

When mixed with wool, ramie adds lightness and minimizes shrinkage. When blended with rayon, it offsets the low wet strength.

Care Recommendations for Ramie Fabrics

Care procedures prescribed on the care labels of ramie products vary. Items of 100 percent ramie should not require special care. Generally, they may be laundered or dry-cleaned depending on individual dyes, finishes and design applications. High temperatures will not harm the fiber itself, making washing in hot water and ironing at high settings possible; however, color retention, shrinkage control or properties of blended fibers may dictate lower temperatures. Recent laboratory testing done has led to the conclusion that the best performance results when gentler or more special handling is used in care. For example, fabrics retained the best color and shape with the most wrinkle-free appearance when they were dry-cleaned.

Machine washing in cold water on gentle cycle with line drying was better than machine washing in warm water with tumble drying on permanent press cool down cycle. Hand washing in cool water with flat drying is the most strongly recommended home care method for both knits and woven fabrics. The consumer who knows the strengths and limitations of the fiber can receive maximum service and enjoyment from ramie products.

When storing ramie or ramie blends, lay them flat. Ramie fibers are brittle and tend to break. Avoid folding the garment or pressing sharp creases in woven fabrics.