Nettle-A-Long, harvesting stinging nettle yarn

Today I had a wonderful meeting with a papermaker.  We talked about hemp, flax, and how the papermaking group is transforming invasive species into useful things.  I'm hugely impressed with their work.  

The conversation turned to nettles.  I had some nettle skins I had stripped in years past that I forgot to hide out of sight.  So we got to talking about it.  One of the things with making paper is the difficulty in separating the fibres from the woody part of the plants.  Stripping the skins of the nettles solves this problem.

I sent some home with her to test.  Things are busy, so it will probably be a few months before we hear the results.  But the method sounds a lot like how some places process nettle fibre for yarn.  Boil the material in an alkali solution remove anything, not cellulose.  Then process the results into the desired form.  

I'm so glad I found this thread! My crafty friend heard about nettle yarn and told me aboutbit and now I'm taking some baby steps in play with them.

I just harvested a bundle - maybe 20 or so stems - last week. They were about 4 feet tall and sun-grown. Still early in the season too. Having not researched fully beforehand (I browsed this forum and watched the Russian man's amazing video), I dried them on our metal roof. I think in the future I'd go for processing green, though I'd like to try dew-retting and we have a beaver-dammed stream that might be perfect for water retting.

I'm a little nervous about how to proceed with this batch, but then again it's not like I have a scarcity of nettle plants to work with!

My nettle patch is destroyed by someone coming on to our property and mowing it down (again!).  

No nettle-a-long for me this year.

But the nettles I harvested earlier made a lovely paper!  So that's something.  

Oh no, Raven!!! What nerve.

I'm excited to hear about the paper results, though. Do you have picture(s), by any chance?

I was reading a collection of Hans Christian Anderson stories, and ran across one that I just had to mention here, as a crucial plot point point is the making and spinning of flax from nettle!

Of course, things are a bit different from my own experience of spinning nettle (as I never got stung), but reading about nettle spinning in a fairy tale was still really cool!

Super short summary of the story: King marries evil stepmother-queen. She's jealous of his eleven sons and one daughter. So she turns the princes into swans (they are only human during the night), and makes the king think the princess is ugly and so he casts her out. Princess reunites with her 11 brothers. And, then she dreams of Morgana:

“Your brothers can be released,” said she, “if you have only courage and perseverance. True, water is softer than your own delicate hands, and yet it polishes stones into shapes; it feels no pain as your fingers would feel, it has no soul, and cannot suffer such agony and torment as you will have to endure. Do you see the stinging nettle which I hold in my hand? Quantities of the same sort grow round the cave in which you sleep, but none will be of any use to you unless they grow upon the graves in a churchyard. These you must gather even while they burn blisters on your hands. Break them to pieces with your hands and feet, and they will become flax, from which you must spin and weave eleven coats with long sleeves; if these are then thrown over the eleven swans, the spell will be broken. But remember, that from the moment you commence your task until it is finished, even should it occupy years of your life, you must not speak. The first word you utter will pierce through the hearts of your brothers like a deadly dagger. Their lives hang upon your tongue. Remember all I have told you.” And as she finished speaking, she touched her hand lightly with the nettle, and a pain, as of burning fire, awoke Eliza.

I copied that from:https://andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheWildSwans_e.html (which has the whole story, though my version names the princess Elise). I really didn't feel like trying transcribe it myself!

The princess manages through great trials and lots of rashes and hard work to make the 11 coats of nettle mail, and saves her brother. So, it looks like spinning flax into gold isn't the only magical spinning in fairy tales!

Hello all, want to share this video we made of the community I work with for the last few years. We are trying to keep alive this ancient skill from Nagaland. This is the beginning.



I need help on finding the right Latin name for the plant.

Please guide how I could go about it.

Regards,
Ritika

Sean Pratt wrote:great thread! i didnt know much about nettles for cordage before this. My girlfriend crochets constantly and im starting to relies how many things we could make 100% off our land if i just had a fiber crop of some sort. so far no luck with nettles. Kai me and Sara sowed some seeds in a local wet spot and i haven't seen any plants yet . but when we do have some nettles be sure we will be Nettle-A-Long with you!

Sean, I have stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) growing here in the Catskills region of upstate NY - it often grows in excess of 6' tall, which is great for a fiber plant of such strength! - anyway, I never find it to be growing in a specifically "wet," i.e. perennially inundated, location. It seems to thrive best in regular garden soil with adequate drainage. It even seems to be comparatively tolerant of long spells of hot, dry weather, probably owing to its being perennial and having a well developed root system...

There are other species of nettle that are lower growing (i.e. Wood Nettle) and seem to prefer wetter, shadier woods... not Stinging Nettles, though, so if you are still having difficulty growing it, try a sunny, well drained locale.

Hope that helps! Glad to see so much interest in this plant that has so much to offer, from food, to medicine, to fiber...


In Awe,

Joe

Thebvo Project wrote:I need help on finding the right Latin name for the plant.

Please guide how I could go about it.

Regards,
Ritika

Ritika - the plant in the video is named as Stinging Nettle, and looks to me to be exactly that: Urtica dioica

In Awe,

Joe

I just recently came across info that describes the many uses of nettles, from highly nutritious food, to medicine, to fiber for yarn or cordage that can be soft or rough. Finding this thread gives me hope that I am not the only one with such an interest. I'm at least 3 years away from my own first attempt, but I'm watching this thread until then.

r ranson wrote:

I put out my retting this week, including some nettles I harvested a while back.

Hey R! I see that you seem to have pulled those nettles up root and all. Did you use the roots in your yarn? Did you ever get that far? I've read that stinging nettle roots are good for prostate problems, a men's medicinal! If I will be able to use the roots in yarn, I'll need to gather more for an annual supply of roots for such uses as I might foresee as a medicinal.

Then the next question, if you did spin it into yarn, how much did this bundle produce? Any specific uses you can see being best for the fiber?

Thanks for the input. Merry Kiss A Moose!
C

Hi Cindy. Great! I just needed more information on retting nettles for fiber. So please go on, with more photos and written information on what you do too.
I have my harvested nettles lying in a wet place here. But I don't now if I do it the right way. And I can't find the needed info, such as 'how long do they need to ret?' or 'how do I treat the stems after retting?'  

Edit: now I see those photos were r.ranson's, not Cindy's. So, please, r., could you tell me where to find more info?

Zack Walker wrote:Happy to find this thread, I did my own experiment this fall and wanted to report back.

My Nettle Processing Album on Imgur
I attached all the pics to this post in case the link dies, first time posting so hope it works ok.

Some high points:
...

Now I found this post, with nice photos. I think my nettle stems are in a wet place much too long now ...
No problem. Lots of stinging nettles growing in my region!

Just curious if anyone has any good information for working with dead/mostly dry nettles. A lot of the info here and online seems to involve green nettles. I picked a bunch of dead ones from the pasture this week and am hoping to make some thread or rope with them.

Earlier in this thread, R mentioned Yarn from Wild Nettles: A Practical Guide. The author is in what she describes as a cold northern European climate. She harvests the plant when dried in the winter. If you are in a similar climate, this method may work for you too.

This video may get you started.  Sarah Corrigan is using dogbane in this video, but I assume the Nettle fiber would look similar if it is at the right stage to process. Note that the resulting fiber is probably too course for fabric, further carding wold be needed for fiber thgat is soft to the touch.

My dew retting didn't work out.  These instructions to "process are per linen" haven't been successful.

But I'm thinking about other ways.  The stripping of the bark is very easy.  I've been looking at ways people use that method to extract spinnable fibres.  

I also have a lot of trouble with the neighbour.  The nettle patch is against the fence and... complicated stuff, he will often pour chemicals on the nettles to try to kill them.  Which is a pitty because U-pick nettles were a nice source of spring income.  Nettles cost $15/100g in the shops this time of year.  

I saw this post on facebook and I loved the illustrations of nettle processing. I thought it might be good to share it here, too!

The post was in Russian, but facebook offered a translation:

Clothing from nettle in Russia.
In Russia, the end of the century there were skilled people who weaved and spilled from everything that was at hand: from Ivan tea, repaynik, bursts, swans and even boiled pine needles.
In old times, the so-called ′′ forest wool ′′ was known - fiber material extracted from pine needles.
In order to get ′′ pine wool ′′ the needles were steamed, boiled in a cheek, brushed, laundered and dry. The received fiber went to the production of warm knitted things. ′′ Pine ′′ clothes were considered not only warm, but also very useful, preventing rheumatism.
Willow prudens, wild rye stems (Tuveiki) and birch are used in the manufacturing of traditional products. Quite often they use another fiber plant growing on wastelands and hills - a narrow Cyprus called Ivan tea among the people. With the stems made in the fall, Ivan - tea is careful to remove the skin, divide it into fiber, dry it and remove it for storage.
Part of the harvested material is painted with the decoction of rusty moss collected on the swamp, containing iron oxide, black. To give the fiber gloss, fish fat is added to the coloring solution. While alternating dark and light fiber, masters decorate the surface of the products in geometric patterns.
Nettle also made fabrics. They were quite widespread.
It was very popular in the Middle Ages, but in the XVI century she replaced cotton, which was easier to collect and spice. During the First World War, Nettle was recalled again. Germany was shortage of cotton, and German uniforms began to make from nettle. New developments in weaving technology can make it the latest fashion sand.
Nettle yarn is softer than flax, because it is made of hollow stems, and for the same reason it has better thermal conductivity. It's cool in nettle clothes in summer, and it's warm in winter. It is believed that such clothes also have healing properties - it saves from sciatica and migraine, helps with rheumatism. And, of course, protects against evil enchantments and bad eyes. In addition, nettle clothes have antiseptic, antifungal properties and obstructs electrostaticity.
Nettle is collected in spring. This is a ready-made trust that nature itself has taken care of - autumn rains and fogs, winter frost and spring thaw. Made of long and thin fibers - kudel - weaved thick canvases - then sewed sundresses, shirts, towels, bed linens - everything necessary for a decent dowry. Canvas whitened on dew and snow, boiled wood ash in a decoction or painted daisies and vasilkív.
Made of short and rough fibers - crumbs and scrapes - weaved a rough and rare canvas - a so-called row that went to bags, blankets, softwares and capes on carts.
Ropes and ropes were wiggled out of indescribable fiber. At first, the fiber was soaked in the oak bark decoction for strength during the day. Then divided into two parts, one of which was painted black with a booth of rusty moss. Twisted two colors ropes struck with the gravy and unique pattern!
Linen, hemp, bamboo, nettle have antiseptic, antifungal action, remove electrical statistics. For a city man, such an outfit is a step towards nature.
Nettle waste was used as a paklu to lay between logs and to make cracks while building a new hut. Nettle yarn knitted rough slippers that were worn without removing, under rheumatism, belts, warming lower back with sciatica and caps that made any migraines pass on their head.
Back in 4000 BC people used nettle to make clothes. The soldiers of the French Emperor Napoleon also wore a ′′ burning ′′ uniform. This plant actually has several advantages over flax. First of all, the yarn is softer because it is made not from leaves, but from hollow stems. Secondly, due to the same cavity, it has better thermal conductivity than linen. It's cooler in summer, and in winter it's warmer. Thirdly, nettle yarn is much cheaper than linen and its production process does not pollute the environment much.
Similar to linen and hemp, nettle is one of the oldest fiber plants a person has learned to process.
Now nettle and other plants have been replaced by linen and cotton, which is grown on an industrial scale and in huge quantities. But growing cotton is a huge harm to the environment! About a quarter of all pesticides used in the world apply
on cotton plantations, draining the soil, polluting the air and water bodies! Besides that, cotton grows only in a certain climate, it has to be transported at huge distances.
Nettle is much softer, thinner, silky and elastic hemp, cheaper in growing and manufacturing than linen, and there is nothing to talk about the environmental side of the issue. What chemicals, fertilizers, specific climate is a weed! Nettle is not scary neither rain nor drought, just give it freedom - will cover the entire territory of Europe with its overgrowns. More than 40 types of insects and small birds will be found in the overgrowns of these.
The production of cotton, so loved by many, is greatly harmful to the environment. The plant needs a lot of water and regular treatment with pesticides and herbicides that protect it from insects and weeds. About a quarter of all the pesticides used in the world spread over cotton plantations. Their remains are polluted by air and water bodies. In addition, cotton grows only in a certain climate, it has to be transported at huge distances.
For the sake of justice, it should be said that nettle fiber was not forgotten by all adults. Even nowadays, they are used to stain threads, preferring to buy, indigenous people of Kamchatka and Priamuria. Durable and durable threads go to weaving bags, baskets and various boxes.

Here's the original text:

Одежда из крапивы на Руси.
На Руси испокон века находились умельцы, которые ткали и пряли из всего, что под руку попадалось: из иван-чая, репейника, лопухов, лебеды и даже вареных сосновых иголок.
В старину известна была так называемая «лесная шерсть» – волокнистый материал, извлекаемый из сосновых иголок.
Для получения «сосновой шерсти» иглы распаривали, вываривали в щелоке, расчесывали, отмывали и сушили. Полученное волокно шло на изготовление теплых вязаных вещей. «Сосновая» одежда считалась не только теплой, но и очень полезной, предупреждающей ревматизм.
При изготовлении традиционных изделий применяются ивовые прутья, стебли дикой ржи (тувейки) и береста. Довольно часто используют и другое волокнистое растение, растущее на пустырях и гарях, — кипрей узколистый, называемый в народе иван-чаем. С заготовленных осенью стеблей иван — чая осторожно снимают кожицу, разделяют ее на волокна, сушат и убирают на хранение.
Часть заготовленного материала окрашивают отваром собранного на болоте ржавого мха, содержащего оксид железа, в черный цвет. Чтобы придать волокнам глянец, в красящий раствор добавляют рыбий жир. Чередуя в определенном порядке темные и светлые волокна, мастера украшают поверхность изделий в геометрическими узорами.
Из крапивы тоже делали ткани. Они были достаточно широко распространены.
Вещи из неё были очень популярны в Средневековье, но в XVI веке ей на смену пришел хлопок, который проще было собирать и прясть. Во время Первой мировой войны о крапиве вспомнили вновь. Германия испытывала дефицит хлопка, и немецкие униформы стали делать из крапивы. Новые разработки в технологиях плетения могут сделать её последним писком моды.
Пряжа из крапивы мягче, чем из льна, потому что делается из полых стеблей, и по этой же причине обладает лучшей теплопроводностью. Летом в крапивной одежде прохладно, а зимой тепло. Считается, что такая одежда обладает еще и целительными свойствами - спасает от радикулита и мигреней, помогает при ревматизме. И, разумеется, охраняет от злых чар и дурного глаза. Кроме того, одежда из крапивы обладает антисептическим, антигрибковым свойством и препятствует электростатичности.
Крапиву на прядение собирают весной. Это готовая треста, о качестве которой позаботилась сама природа – осенние дожди и туманы, зимний мороз и весенняя оттепель. Из длинных и тонких волокон – кудели – ткали плотные холсты – потом шили сарафаны, рубахи, полотенца, постельное белье – все необходимое для достойного приданого. Холсты отбеливали на росе и снегу, вываривали в отваре древесной золы или подкрашивали отваром ромашки и васильков.
Из коротких и грубых волокон – изгребья и пачесей – ткали грубое и более редкое полотно – так называемую ряднину, которая шла на мешки, одеяла, подстилки и накидки на возы.
Из непряденых волокон вили веревки и канаты. Сначала волокна в течение суток вымачивали в отваре дубовой коры для прочности. Затем делили на две части, одну из которых окрашивали в черный цвет отваром ржавого мха. Скрученные из волокон двух цветов веревки поражали затейливостью и неповторимостью рисунка!
Лен, конопля, бамбук, крапива обладают антисептическим, антигрибковым действием, снимают электростатику. Для городского человека такой наряд– шаг к природе.
Отходы крапивы использовали, как паклю, для прокладки между бревнами и заделывания щелей при строительстве новой избы. Из крапивной пряжи вязали грубые носки-тапочки, которые носили, не снимая, при ревматизме, пояса, согревающие поясницу при радикулите и шапочки, от появления которых на голове проходили любые мигрени.
Еще в 4000 году до н.э. люди использовали крапиву для изготовления одежды. «Жгучую» форму носили также солдаты французского императора Наполеона. Это растение на самом деле имеет несколько преимуществ перед льном. Во-первых, пряжа из нее мягче, потому что делается она не из листьев, а из полых стеблей. Во-вторых, вследствие той же полости она обладает лучшей теплопроводностью, чем льняная. Летом в ней прохладнее, а зимой – теплее. В-третьих, пряжа из крапивы значительно дешевле льняной и процесс ее производства не так сильно загрязняет окружающую среду.
Подобно льну и конопле, крапива — одно из самых древнейших волокнистых растений, которые человек научился обрабатывать.
Сейчас крапиву и другие растения заменили льном и хлопком, который выращивается в промышленных масштабах и в огромных количествах. Но выращивание хлопка наносит огромный вред окружающей среде! Около четверти всех пестицидов, используемых в мире, применяется
на плантациях хлопка, истощая почву, загрязняя воздух и водоемы! Кроме этого, хлопок растет только в определенном климате, его приходится перевозить на огромные расстояния.
Крапива гораздо мягче, тоньше, шелковистей и эластичней конопляных, дешевле по выращиванию и производству, чем льняные, а про экологическую сторону вопроса и говорить нечего. Какие химикаты, удобрения, специфический климат – это же сорняк! Крапиве не страшны ни дожди ни засухи, только дай ей волю – покроет своими зарослями всю территорию Европы. А в зарослях этих тут же найдут приют более 40 видов насекомых и маленьких птичек.
Производство хлопка, так любимого многими, наносит огромный вред окружающей среде. Растению требуется много воды и регулярная обработка пестицидами и гербицидами, защищающими его от насекомых и сорняков. Около четверти всех пестицидов, используемых в мире, распространяется над плантациями хлопка. Их остатки загрязняют воздух и водоёмы. Кроме того, хлопок растёт только в определённом климате, его приходится перевозить на огромные расстояния.
Справедливости ради следует сказать, что крапивные волокна были забыты не всеми взрослыми. Даже в наше время их используют для прядения ниток, предпочитая покупным, коренные жители Камчатки и Приамурья. Прочные и долговечные нити идут на плетение сумок, корзин и разнообразных коробок.

And here's the pictured that went along with it (none were captioned)

That looks very interesting Nicole. I hope there's someone who really knows Russian and will give a good translation. I don't know if the translation now is OK or not, but often such translations are somewhat off ...

I know this was 4 years ago, but I'm just into this now and live nearby you.  I've never done this sort of thing before and everything I'm finding is either conflicting, mixed up (as some posts here readily admit to), or unconfirmed/rumour as they've not done it themselves.  Can we talk more directly please?

Angela
North Delta, BC

I know R Ranson is usually swamped with stuff she has to do, but she's usually able to answer question here on the forums. That way, the answers are out there for everyone that is wondering. Chances are, if you're wondering something, lots of other people are, too!

Think about Cotton and Linen that have been grown by humans for thousands of years.  Some say we harnessed the power of linen before humans learned how to control fire.  I don't know, I wasn't there.  But we've been growing and working with linen for long before recorded history and the plant has adapted to our needs.  Thus the method for working with linen is more or less the same all over the world - although the tools used vary.

Nettles are wild and haven't been domesticated yet.  How nettles grow, depend on the climate they grow in and the genetics in that patch.  

The location has a huge effect on how nettles grow.  

This is one of the reasons why there is so much variation in how nettles are processed in different places and at different times throughout history.  This is why there is so much contradictory information.  

Given how much mythology and misrepresentation textile history has in the textbooks, there's a lot of information floating around that doesn't work when we try it.  The thing that I often see in history books is that nettles are "processed as per linen" which doesn't work with the linen tools I have as nettles have nodes along the stem that cause the fibres to break and be short.   But it might work with the way the Egyptians processed linen - and there is some evidence that European nettles were processed that way.

There is no one right or one true way to do anything when it comes to textiles.  There are the ways that give you the results you want and the ways that don't.


Finding out what those ways require some experimentation.  Thus the Nettle-A-Long thread.  A place where we can gather information in one spot and share our experiences working with nettles.  

Would you like to share some of your experiments?  

Here is a playlist of youtube videos where people make fibre from nettles using many different methods.

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:That looks very interesting Nicole. I hope there's someone who really knows Russian and will give a good translation. I don't know if the translation now is OK or not, but often such translations are somewhat off ...

Well... There is only one person I know who can speak English and Russian. So I PM'd Yuri of Foken hoe fame, and he graciously reviewed it for us. Thank you Yuri! He said the translation is good, but he does not know the English words for the tools. He also took the time to hunt up some videos for us! This first one is awesome! I just decided to share all his links after seeing the quality of the first video. Here they are...

turn on subtitles for English.

Today I try the root retting method.  As per usual, it's been raining since October and we've finally had our February dry week.  So last week, I went out to the nettle patch to see if root retting works in my climate.

I don't know how I missed this thread before! My nettles are just starting to sprout so the next couple of months will be just eating them but then I look forward to trying out all the great info here for getting some useable fibers.

In a previous attempt, I tried dew retting but life got busy and after one afternoon messing around with a few stems with my kids, the rest of the nettles dew retted themselves straight back into the ground 😂

At my allotment garden I have a special patch of stinging nettles, next to the raspberries. I saw they are starting to grow!

When I think I tried to grow cotton when I had awesome fiber all along... I'll really need to try this one day.

One side note though; if you harvest nettles, you HAVE to try the leaves decoction. Put a few handful of nettle in about 2 liter of water, make it boil for like ten minutes, then filter, wait a bit for it to cool down enough, and then drink. Obviously tastes differ for everyone, but for me it's incredibly good tasting, especially when it's just hot enough. The nettle leaves that are left can either be eaten, or thrown into the compost. I usually follow my goat instincts and eat it.

To Maureen Atsali: interesting article for you to read here about exercise induced anaphylaxis. It is considered a rear condition but if it persists or gets worse might want to check with a doctor: https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/886641-overview

Hello!

I'm totally new here - I found this thread yesterday and have gone through it all, and now felt that I have to register and tell you all about me.

I have crocheted and knitted for a few years, started dyeing yarns recently and the next step seems to be to make the yarn myself!

I live in Sweden and got the idea like three days ago to make my own yarn from nettles, and then I started researching. There's really a lot of different information everywhere. I have some nettles I can harvest from a farmer's land nearby and I think I will do so after we've been on a caravan trip to the west coast. And later in August - I think August 22nd - my father will come over with harvested nettle. I initially found a video on youtube that I don't think has been mentioned here before: https://youtu.be/361YVBkFylo

I'm glad that I found this thread because in the video  he rets the nettle in water for a week, and by your experiences that's far too much!

I will make this during late August and September, when it's still warm and chances for sun, because I don't have anywhere inside where I can dry the nettles, so I need to use the last summer warmth. I hope to update you all!

By the way - I have been trying to find carders but I can't seem to find any other than very expensive with expensive shipping fee. And when I search I only get hits on dog brushes. Would it be possible to use dog brushes?! I'm very sceptical but I don't want to to spend so much money if I later decide that nettles aren't for me.

(Btw I'm tidsvisoryarn on insta if anyone wants to follow my endeavours into everything yarnrelated).

I found some interesting videos on nettles (and other plants) for fiber. I'll share one here, but Sally has a lot more interesting stuff on her channel!

Inspired by Sally Pointer's videos I started a new project: an iron age style small bag in 'looping' (also called nalbinding) using the fibers from stems of horseradish plants. The horseradish grows in large enough quantities on my allotment garden.

And then my plan is to go harvesting stinging nettles from the wood (nearby the allotment gardens). I want to try getting the fibers from them without retting, about the same way as I do now with the horseradish stems.

Just out of academic interest. Today, I collected nettles around my farm for a delicious soup 🙂

So I forgot about this thread. Starting last year I did several things with plant fibers. Probably it was because of Sally Pointers videos (and her Instagram posts) it happened that I became an 'educative re-enactor' (I think that's how to call it) at the Hunebedcentrum, showing how people in the Stone-age made fibers out of plants and then used those fibers to make string/cordage. For those demonstrations that's enough, but for myself I go on and use that cordage to make things in different techniques: looping (simplest needle-binding), plying, basket making.

Now I have a collection of fibers I made out of different plants: nettle, flax, horseradish, burdock, corn, sansevieria, ... Not all are suited for those 'stone-age' demonstrations, because not all of those plants grew here (in the Netherlands) back then. The sansevieria still only grows here as a houseplant, indoors.

In the Facebook group Nettles For Textiles I made an album with my photos related to plant fibers. But of course not everyone is on Facebook. So I'll show something here.

using flint tools to make flax stems into linen fiber


both flax and nettle fibers can get as fine as this, and be made into sewing thread.


the horseradish fiber is not that fine, but good to use for making bags in looping technique.


with brambles and bindweed I made such tiny baskets.

In a thread about flax I promised photos of processing nettles without retting. I think this is the right thread to put those photos in. I made those photos last year for the facebook-group about nettle fibers ... Now is the right time to put them here, because the season for harvesting stinging nettles styarts right now (at least in my climate, which is about the same as in England).

Harvest nettles


Crush the stems (wooden shoes are handy, but you can use different ways too)


Break the stem open


Remove the 'pit', the woody core


This is the result of step 1.
Will be continued in next post

Step 2 of the processing of stinging nettles.
You can let the result of step 1 dry, even keep it dry for a long period.
Then to go on you soak them in water.
Soaking


Scraping with an old (fairly blunt) knife (or a flint scraper)


More scraping, until the light fibers are as clean as you want them


To get the fibers even cleaner you can use a fine dog comb


Me dressed in stone age costume processing plant fibers at the Hunebedcentrum
(photo made by ?)

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:So I forgot about this thread. Starting last year I did several things with plant fibers. Probably it was because of Sally Pointers videos (and her Instagram posts) it happened that I became an 'educative re-enactor' (I think that's how to call it) at the Hunebedcentrum, showing how people in the Stone-age made fibers out of plants and then used those fibers to make string/cordage. For those demonstrations that's enough, but for myself I go on and use that cordage to make things in different techniques: looping (simplest needle-binding), plying, basket making.

Now I have a collection of fibers I made out of different plants: nettle, flax, horseradish, burdock, corn, sansevieria, ... Not all are suited for those 'stone-age' demonstrations, because not all of those plants grew here (in the Netherlands) back then. The sansevieria still only grows here as a houseplant, indoors.



the horseradish fiber is not that fine, but good to use for making bags in looping technique.

Wow.  I wasn't aware of yet another use for the horseradish plant.  I've been growing my own for some time and make much stronger sauce than you can typically find in the stores here (but the only other one in the family who uses it moved halfway across the country so it lasts a while).  It looks like I've found another rabbit hole to go down....

There is more to continue about the stinging nettle fiber! When I had plenty of fibers I made them into thread (twine, cordage) and used that to sew 'leggings' (in the prehistoric way) of leather.


I sorted out the fibers. I needed long but fine ones. On this photo you also see a piece of the thread with a needle.


Long fine nettle fibers


Seams sewn with nettle thread in leather legging.

Inge, it's really inspiring to see your example of actually using the thread you made for a project. I don't have time to do projects that don't have a useful outcome at the moment, and yet I really want to experiment with harvesting and making my own thread/twine. If I know it can really be used, that helps a lot.

After showing you what I did with stinging nettles last year I had a look at my nettle-patch ... Yes, that's a garden bed at the allotment garden I rent, where the nettles grow 'on purpose'. I did not plant them, they were already growing there. When I took over that plot permaculture principles were already applied there by two former renters (although the last one was more like neglecting his garden). The nettle plants are smartly hidden between raspberries....
To continue: the nettles looked like they were (almost) ready for harvesting. Some were a little too close to the path, hanging over. So those were the ones I cut (just above ground level) to try them.

These were the nettles I brought home  


Stripped off the leaves with garden gloves


First step of the 'fresh processing without retting' method
They look okay, but I think not as good as last year. Or maybe they still need to grow a little more ...

Next steps will follow.

I'm getting excited to try making fibres from my nettles this year. I've played once or twice before, but only achieved learning from failure. There are some excellent videos here and also thanks Inge for sharing your experiences with us!
I weeded my fruit jungle which has yielded lots of nettles. Much of it is really a bit young, so I don't know whether I'll get fibre out of it, but some is tougher and the core is more woody. This is easier to remove and get the long outer skins off. I used one of my rolling pins on the doorstep to crush the stems. If I had a mangle I'm sure it would be possible to crush lots of stems at once. So far I've got a couple of small bundles of skins. I'm happy that Inge says that this can be processed later so I don't have to do all the steps in a tight time frame.