UNRAVELING FIBERS

This quick tour of the common plant, animal, and synthetic fibers from which cloth is manufactured will give young weavers and seamstresses--or, for that matter, clothes-wearers and towel-users--a better understanding of this raw material's varied origins. The authors describe the source, harvesting, manufacture and special characteristics of 13 fibers, flax to rayon, simply and systematically, without going into technical detail (or economic issues, though photos of huge machines working a cotton field, immediately followed by a view of Bangladeshi jute strippers, may give perceptive readers pause). Well-chosen and -placed full-color photos support points made in the text, and add plenty of visual appeal, too; who could fail to be intrigued by the sight of sheep or a llama being sheared, or a row of fuzzy angora rabbits, or the goopy syrup from which kevlar is spun? As for the future: ""Ten years from now you may be wearing a shirt or pants made of polyester from a potato. . . . Imagine that!