Basic Nettle String
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2019
- Back to basics, how to harvest, prepare and make a 'bark-on' nettle string with minimal equipment.
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Sally is such a delightful presenter, with a relaxed manner. I’ve learnt a lot since finding her channel.
This could quite possible be my favorite channel on TH-cam, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
Thank you very much!
Right? It's a treasure trove of information and I love her voice and presentations!
I tried last year this video is so much better then the one I tried to follow update successfuly made two lengths of cordage and fashioned into 2 necklaces with deer bone center piece.
Thank you
Wow...I came on youtube to find a tutorial for this and did a double take when you said herefordshire, wasn't expecting the first video i clicked on to be from my home LOL
The only demo I’ve yet found by a female - thank you!
Why does that matter
I love this video, for it has given me string!
Your dexterity is mesmerising.
thnks for this video
now will try to do step by steps guide , thnks tkcre
Thanks for an amazing video, I've wanted to have a go for years!
Very interesting video. Thanks for keeping the ancient skill alive!
"processed" my first four nettles tonight. Now I'd like to know how to make yarn. Ambitious aim is to crochet myself a pair of socks 😂
That's a great start! For yarn soft enough to crochet, I'd recommend scraping the fibres well then carding them to make a rolag for spinning.
@@SallyPointer thank you for confirming. I have two scrappers and kind of thought this would be the sequencing but I don't have a spindle so I'll have to improvise 🤞😊
I realize I'm kinda randomly asking but does anyone know a good website to watch new series online ?
@Cohen Yehuda Lately I have been using FlixZone. Just google for it =)
@Harper Genesis yea, been using flixzone for years myself =)
thanks for the great video, just made my first 1 yard of cordage, ....pleased as punch😄
Brilliant!
vry interesting. Thank you
I just made my first string! So wonderful and satisfying!
Hoorày!
This method of making cordage would be perfect for people who are homeless and living in the woods or wilds! Sadly, I have been homeless myself years ago and knowing this would of helped me a lot back then. I come across many people who are living in the woods in and around my town, I help them when I can with knowledge of hunting herbs and wild foods, this is one more thing I can teach them to do! Thank you! I have read books that mentioned many other plant vines and trees to make cordage, one being green brier cord and I wonder if you have ever tried it to make cordage and possibly grape vine or wisteria vines? A afterthought, can milk weed fluff be made into thread?
Enjoyed watching your video and learning from it. When I was a kid, we had a massive nettle patch on the creek, and it was not my favorite! I'm going to give this a try. We've showcased your video on our nature weaving roundup on Textile Indie.
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A very useful technique, I was able to make a long cord and then double the thickness by repeating the process. Strong and I can imagine it being remarkably handy if establishing a camp somewhere. Thanks!
I'm going to try this tomorrow :)
I love this so much.
I like tyou technique of lay the new fiber over both strains, I previously just put it at the end of one but this produces thicker parts (which we don't want). I also found that dried material just works better, when put some minutes into water before using it.
You know, I never once considered folding back upon itself the thin ends to keep the last bit thicker. I tried taking some thin flax plants straight from the field early in the morning yesterday. The dew had made the dry stalks of the flax rather pliable. Since these stalks are not yet retted the strands of fiber don't come off so easily like nettle. Being pliable from the dew meant none of the core would crack and fall away. The entire stalk was like string. I decided to try to braid three stalks of flax to see what I could get. I need an anchor point to help so I will try that but the resulting braid is very very strong. Video coming. The only issue with flax is that it is not typically found in the wild to find to help build a shelter or something. Bramble is our most abundant source of fiber here in my local area. Still need to go harvest some while the long stalks are still pliable. :)
The bramble is certainly perfect right now, I also need to stock.up on strands for use later in the winter.
thanks for this beautiful and inspiring video! i tried it today: gaining long fibres was a bit tricky, most tore off too easily. but the resulting string became way longer than expected!. great craft, i will do it more often. :) greetings from germany! :D
Really pleased you enjoyed it!
Thnxs for uploading and sharing this
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Found the video I asked for on Instagram ^^ lovely video much better and detailed explained than all the „lets make cordage bushcraft videos“ this is really nice string making.
I subscribed for some more videos of yours. Hope you keep this channel up! :)
Thanks very much! I've got several more cordage related videos planned, just need time to film them!
@@SallyPointer I know about this XD got some drawing waiting to be drawn and filmed...and then there's the editing. Take your time, good quality needs time :)
Wow, this was so much fun to learn! I'm eager to try it out as I have ideas floating in my head already what to make with it! Thank you, Sally🌿
this is a realy good vid! thanks, you explain realy well
Earned a sub from me - fantastic video, really clear, thanks a lot!
Great stuff thanks Sally
Another interesting and useful video Sally, thank you!
Hi Sally, it's Dave off the Facebook page, what a great video, enjoyed watching. Subscribed to you on the account of the good life. Thanks for sharing.
ATB Dave 👍
your slowly turning into a favourite youtube of the hedgerows :D amazing videos
Thank you! Looking forward to making more when life calms down a bit
very interesting and concise, thank you.
This is the clearest explanation and demonstration I have ever seen. Like the bramble would you also scrape it during preparation for a more long term project or is scraping optional? Many thanks all around! 🌿
I often do scrape for finer fibre, but rubbing will also work
@@SallyPointer Thankyou Sally. I really enjoy and appreciate your channel.
Thank you so much for the video! just tried it, and I'm hooked. Can you tell me - I made quite a long string. Would it be possible to cut it into shorter strings, or will it fall apart?
You can indeed
Thanks for sharing!
I tried harvesting and processing some nettles this morning, however found that the stems of the nettle were stinging me whilst I was removing the internal woody segments and pulling apart the fibres. Even after drying in the sun, when it came to creating my cordage, the fibres still kept stinging me! All the information I can find online say that once the leaves are removed there is no sting, but as I've found this isn't the case for me. Is it normal for the stem to continue to sting? Thanks!
Some nettles are more vicious than others. Try this, once you have stripped the leaves off, run gloved hands firmly up and down the whole stem to break off the tiny stinging hairs, if that's not enough, run the back of your knife offer the whole thing. It's not common for people to find the stalk hard to handle, but variations do occur, and the trick is to remove the fine 'needles'
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When you're making the string you could do a mirrored version of what you're doing. The twists in the string means that it has handedness just like a screw, so if you instead started with twisting with your left hand, exactly like how you normally do with your right, then the procedure is the same as normal just with opposite hands.
You'll get a 'S' rather than a 'Z' twist, but yes, that works fine. We usually teach a Z twist because that's the most usually seen convention in the West, but it doesn't make any difference to string integrity and no reason at all not to do it if it's a better motion for you and the twist direction is irrelevant to your project.
@@SallyPointer I love that there is a historical evidence behind what you teach even when it is not immediately obvious :)
Do you know anything about the prevalence of 'Z' vs. 'S' twist in the past? I'm wondering if it is comparable to the 10% prevalence of left-handedness we generally observe in humans today or if there might have been a pressure to conform with the handedness of strings made by other people.
@@KarlFFF yes, that's one major aspect to it. Barber discusses this more in her book 'Prehistoric Textiles' and it seems to become a broad standard over time, possibly because if several people are pooling their work for a larger project, unless different twist direction is used as a decorative element the piece usually is more balanced with all the threads twisting the same way.
Thanks so much for sharing! How would you judge if it's too late to harvest them?
If they are a nightmare to peel, they may be getting too old and woody. Right now is good (in the UK anyway)
@@SallyPointer Thank you!! Im in the Netherlands so I assume we are more or less at the same stage now :) will go foraging this week!!
I’m so excited to try this. Any idea how much weight these could hold? (A ballpark number would be fine)
A lot will depend on thickness, fibre length and the maturity of the fibre, but it's strong stuff. Perhaps not quite as strong as line flax, but easily as strong as flax tow I'd reckon
This is cool but why were you touching the unprepped nettles with your bare hands in the beginning?
With practice you don't get stung much, I prefer to feel the plants I work with
@@SallyPointer Ah that's good, I gotta admit you're braver than me!
@@ShadowNinetales I know many people who harvest nettle to eat, to make tea etc. They grow at like a crop at their homes, and it no longer stings them. So if you handle nettle frequently enough, your body adapts and is no longer irritated.
Left-handed people can just mirror what you do and end up with cordage with the opposite twist (z(2s) rather than s(2z) as shown here).
Yes indeed. I tend to teach people to make the same twist throughout the group though so that any pooled resources in a follow on project work together without twist bias coming into play, but absolutely there is more than one way
Can nettles be too old to effectively make cordage? I tried last week with nettle stems that were older and going purple/brown and found it really difficult to split them into long strings.
This hot weather may mean ones in full sun are going woody fast. Try some in damp shade and see if you get on better with them
Have you ever Made a basket from nettles. If so could you post a link to the video. Thank you sally
I have, but the only video clip of it is in the video for this year's Nettles Challenge, I haven't done a separate video of it.
@@SallyPointer please do a nettle basket Sally. Please 😊
What happens when it fully drys and it’s more brittle after it’s been make into cordage
It's absolutely fine. For longest lasting strong fully dry the fibre first then lightly roll it to soften before cording it, and the resulting string can be used anywhere you like. I've never found it brittle as long as the fibre is fully mature
You dont need to separate the inner bark from outer bark? Ive been doing that with my fingernail but ive been losing probably 70% of the fiber from the nettle doing that and only get a few inches from each plant
Not for the most basic string. If you scrape though you do get closer to the clean fibres, and yes, lots of wastage. Just depends on your intended end use.
Thank you! how did you hold the nettles like that!?
Practice!
I'm curious about whether nettle fibers can be processed like flax and spun into fibers for making cloth. Would processing and spinning the fibers be worth the effort?
Have you seen the amazing 'nettle dress' project and film by Allan Brown? His spun and woven nettle is just beautiful.
@@SallyPointer I have not. That sounds fascinating. I'll look it up. Thank you so much.
I like to use nettle once the stems have started to turn purple
PS nice gloves!
How long can I use this cord? 1 week, a month or years? Does it decompose or just lose strength?
I'm using cord I made five or six years ago just fine
I wonder if it's possible to knit with them.
It is indeed
Could you help me? Nettles are out of season and i really would like to make some plant based string. What plants would i need to get now? Any winter plants that are suitable? I live in a similar area as england.
You might still find bramble in moist shared woodland that hasn't become brittle yet, also see if any of the dock, plantain or horseradish type plants still around have flexible fibres in the rib stalk that haven't got too woody. Otherwise commercially available hemp or flax fibre is easily accessible and great to learn with, but hopefully you'll still find some sheltered areas where the winter weather hasn't made plant fibre difficult to access. In dryer areas, standing nettles may have root retted fibre available now, always worth checking them.
@@SallyPointer thank you!
I've seen you strip nettles without gloves, is there a technique to it or just tough hands? As in, how would our glove-less ancestors have de-stung the nettle?
I don't have tough hands, it's mostly practice and not minding a few stings. I have started wearing gloves this year though because my cancer treatment has left my skin hyper sensitive, but I'm hoping it will be back to normal next year
@@SallyPointer thanks! I just learned that nettle is native to North America as well, so I might be able to find some!
@@SallyPointer I hope your cancer treatment went well.
@@wodentoad1I know people in the US who regularly pick nettle several times a week, eating it when it is young etc. They find that very quickly their bodies adapt and are no longer bothered by the small prickly parts.
Can you use any variety of nettle to make string? Many thanks
As far as I'm aware, yes. It's worth experimenting though as even within Urtica dioica, the common stinging nettle, there is variation.
@@SallyPointer thanks ever so much
This nettle I found doesn't have fibers just some weird foam
What part of the world are you in? Here in the UK the nettle season is mostly over and the fibres are really woody and embedded in the bark
@@SallyPointer I'm currently living in Belgium but I'm from America. I have family that lives in the woods so on my way back home (in another city) I decided to harvest some nettle. I'm not sure if the nettle I got is just premature or what it is because I think I've also seen it in a purple/reddish color but what I got was green. And when attempting to extract there was just the bark and foam core, nothing in between. And it has to be nettle because it looks the same and stings, and the removing process of the needles is the same. I suppose I could be wrong but I'm just completely unsure. I would like to learn about plants if I ever get the chance.
make a possibles bag. you're nettled out, make a pouch or something please. and not a little tiny tea bag, a useful pouch made entirely out of nettle. tight weave strong bottom I challenge you.
My current project is a looped bag, quite large, but open weave. I'm planning on putting this summer's harvest towards a twined project, that will be tightly worked. A few months yet before harvesting starts for the year though.