A naturally occurring fabric belonging to the species Hardwikia binata was extracted from the sheath of stem, bark, and branches of the tree. The fabric specimens were treated with sodium hydroxide and poly (vinyl alcohol). The morphology of the fabric specimens before and after NaOH treatment was studied using scanning electron microscopy technique. Ligno-cellulosic properties of fabric were analyzed by XRD, FTIR, and thermo gravimetric methods before and after NaOH treatment. Tensile strength and percentage of elongation at break of the fabric were also studied by using a universal testing machine (model AGS-10kNG). The results showed that the poly (vinyl alcohol)-treated fabric specimens showed higher tensile strength than sodium hydroxide-treated fabric specimens. The Binata fabric has good thermal resistance and was also found to increase by alkali treatment. The FTIR method indicates lowering the hemi cellulose and lignin content by alkali treatment in the fabric. Further, the X-ray diffraction studies revealed an increase in crystallinity of the fabric by alkali treatment. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 115: 2806-2812, 2010