As our heritage craft courses are beginning to start again it's time for us to gather some natural resources.
The use of nettle fibre for clothing is not a new phenomenon. In fact, people have been using nettle fibres in this way for around two thousand years, with the earliest records being from the Bronze Age in Voldtofte, Denmark. There is also evidence of nettle cloth production from all over Europe, including Scandinavia, Poland and Germany, as well as in Russia, China and Japan. The use of nettle fibres for clothing declined from the 16th century as the cotton industry started to grow, being easier and more convenient to harvest. In Poland nettle fibres were used until the 17th century, to be replaced by silk and in Scotland, nettle fibres were used until the 19th century where it was known as Scotch Cloth. There was a brief resurgence of nettle fibres in Germany during the First World War, where it was used for uniforms, due to a shortage of cotton.
Today, the use of nettle fibres is on the increase again with the need for sustainable natural fibres becoming ever more poignant. Nettles are biodegradable making them desirable over plastic-based fibres such as nylon, acrylic and polyester. They are also less resource- intensive to process than cotton so kinder to the planet. To get the fibres required for cordage theres a bit of work involved and if done right theres no need for a dock/ plantain leaf.
To get to the lovely fibres required for cordage we need to get to an easily accessible part of the patch so we can reach the bottoms of the stalks without getting zapped, we need to pull the stalk from the base of the plant once the plant is out we hold it at the top making sure not to touch the underside of any leaves we then strip down the stalk making sure to only touch the tops of the leaves once we've done that part we split the stalk and lay it flat. Then we remove the pith and bend the hard stalk until it snaps leaving the hard stalk and soft inner fibres we then pull the harder outer skin away from the inner fibres and coil the inner to dry ready for twisting.