In re clothing fibers, it's worth considering that all plant and animal fibers require processing after harvest. However hard it is to raise the fiber, the labor (and potentially danger) of the processing is another factor that would constrict supply. Flax processing is back-breaking stuff: whacking the stems to break them open, lots of yanking and pounding, etc. etc. Even WITH slavery in its cultivation, cotton wasn't really a profitable crop until after they automated removal of the seeds from the bolls. There used to be like 10 different professions in processing wool: shearer, washer, carder, spinner, dyer, weaver, fuller, etc. Rayon can be made from all kinds of plant fibers, including bamboo, but there's chemical processing required, like big vats over huge burners.
Is this a high-tech civilization, i.e. have they been able to automate some/all processing tasks? Or a very low one, where each task is done manually? Somewhere in between?
Once you have the processed fibers, of course, you have to make them into clothes, tools, rope. If the fabric can be gotten cheaply/automatically, then there's enough of it kicking around to sew complex garment styles with waste leftover. If fabric is dear, then the clothing styles will be much simpler: squares and rectangles belted together rather than curved seams and buttons. Even if there are sewing machines, you don't want to waste fabric by cutting fitted styles! Fabric would be recycled regularly downward (Sunday best to everyday clothes to scullery clothes to rags), and then maybe pulped and turned into paper, especially if you're in a civilization without trees. Yes, paper used to be made out of fabric rags, and is now made out of wood pulp.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2025-03-09 05:30 pm (UTC)Is this a high-tech civilization, i.e. have they been able to automate some/all processing tasks? Or a very low one, where each task is done manually? Somewhere in between?
Once you have the processed fibers, of course, you have to make them into clothes, tools, rope. If the fabric can be gotten cheaply/automatically, then there's enough of it kicking around to sew complex garment styles with waste leftover. If fabric is dear, then the clothing styles will be much simpler: squares and rectangles belted together rather than curved seams and buttons. Even if there are sewing machines, you don't want to waste fabric by cutting fitted styles! Fabric would be recycled regularly downward (Sunday best to everyday clothes to scullery clothes to rags), and then maybe pulped and turned into paper, especially if you're in a civilization without trees. Yes, paper used to be made out of fabric rags, and is now made out of wood pulp.