I'm exploring how to make twine with
local materials.
I don't have any (known) stinging
nettles and the blackberry brambles have already hardened for the season. I've been watching youtube videos about different fibers for cordage and Yucca showed up in my
feed. Here are a couple of videos that were helpful and below that are some photos I took while making Yucca cordage.
you can even make
soap from Yucca
This morning, I went out to the Yucca patch and gathered about a dozen leaves.
Step 1: Harvest Yucca
I cut the stems down low near the base of the plant with scissors and brought them inside.
Step 2: Remove the Coarse 'Hair-Like' Fibers - just pull them off
Step 3: Pound on the Leaf
I used a wooden
spoon with a big flat-ish back and the kitchen counter (covered with black plastic to prevent staining) Turns out my shirt did get stained green - the counter would have been fine.
Step 4: Expose the Fibers
I used a different wooden spoon with a steeper edge to scrap the waxy coating and the dark green coating off of the fibers
Here is a brief materials processing
video I made of Steps 3 & 4:
Step 5: Separate the Fibers
Using my fingernails, I separated the fibers.
Step 6: Spin
Step 7: Ply
Alternate Step 6&7: Use the Twist and Fold method described in the videos to make cordage without a drop spindle
Step 8: Measure - 20 feet for the
BB
I made about 9 feet from six leaves and plan to make more tomorrow.
One of many lessons learned: round things work better than straight things for pounding and scraping. I tried a putty knife and it gouged my surface without doing much to the leaf. The spoons worked much better and I was able to control where and how they affected the surface much easier than the straight edge of the putty knife.
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