Create cord from nettles

Monek Marie

Fun page for creating cord from nettles.

My friend weaves using nettles. I was amazed how soft it was

https://www.instructables.com/Making-survival-cord-from-nettles/

ltwickey

Isn't amazing how the plants with health benefits like nettle are also able to be used for other necessary aspects of life!?!!?

Truly an amazing planet we have been given!

Thank you for the post.

Monek Marie

Nettle is an amazing plant.

We have been given every thing we need to live and thrive in nature. Much of the knowledge has been lost over time but like minded people can dig that info back out,

water2world

@Denise Grant What an article!! I have only eaten or made a tea with nettles and NOW I have something else to try! Thanks for the link!

Melissa Swartz

It seems like the stems of giant ragweed would also produce good cordage. Has anyone tried using it? It's very tough when it's mature and hard to cut down.

https://weedid.missouri.edu/weedinfo.cfm?weed_id=18

Torey

First Nations along the Pacific Northwest coast used to make fishing line and nets from nettle cord. Even when it is worked into fine cordage, it is very strong.

karenjanicki

Very cool! I had heard of that and wondered how to do it. Thanks for sharing :)

flowerpower *

With a shaded location on the north of a shed and probably having lots of water (rain) I saw nettles grow to over six feet high. I thought at the time they would have been great candidates for making cordage, if I knew how to do that.

Steamed nettle tips are very tasty as well. Nettles are a very useful plant as long as they are not allowed to grow where they will sting us.

Linda Bittle

I've made cordage from nettle and from dog-bane and from raffia. It's a nice project to work on while watching a movie. Once you get the hang of adding in the new fibers it goes pretty fast, and you can make as long as you need it. It's surprisingly strong.

The hardest part was in getting the long fibers out of the stalks in one piece. I liked to do that outside to save a big cleanup.

Monek Marie

@monica197 I would love to see cord from moss. I have family memories from the moss that hangs in trees down south

LaurieLovesLearning

Dogbane is the featured cordage plant in this article. Further down, you can find a link on nettle & milkweed as well.

https://dakotaplants.wordpress.com/2021/01/29/nape-oilekiyapi/

Monek Marie

I found dogbane along thecreek one day while taking a walk. I had no idea what it was so had to come home and identify it

There are so many prioducts to create cordage with.

Cornelius

Interesting! Can't ever have too much survival knowledge, right?

marjstratton

My herbal wild-crafting teacher taught us how to make cordage from nettles. Fun. I haven't done it since, but potentially a good skill to have.

Torey

Fireweed is another plant used for cordage by First Nations in my part of the world. Also strong enough to use for fishing nets. It is so prolific here that it is easy to harvest a lot of it.

vickeym

Denise Grant Great information to have. I know nettles grow wild here, but have never been lucky enough to find any yet. Broke down and ordered seed so I can grow some for myself. Could not have imagined a few years back I would ever buy "weed" seeds.

torey Fireweed grows well here also. Used to have a lot on our place, though for some reason the two large patches I had are not nearly as large as they used to be. Bought seeds for that once also, ended up reselling most of them to the tourists though. Made mistake of saying I had some seeds and everyone wanted them.

monica197 very interesting information about the moss. I grew up in FL but never knew the moss had any use. Or the prickly pear that was so widespread as to be almost invasive was not only edible but such a useful plant in so many ways.There was a spongy moss type plant that grew all over as well. That one I have used as a sponge for cleaning many times. Lived in central FL (Ocala area) for about 30 years.

Monek Marie

@vickeym When I head down south I will make sure I dig you up some slender nettle. I am sure it will grow in your are as we are not that different in climate.

Slender nettle has the same qualities as stinging nettle but does not have the "bite". It has a few needles but like stinging nettle. I love it!

vickeym

Denise Grant Thank you that is very thoughtful.

norabelehcim

Nettle, milkweed, pyeweed and other cordage can also make beautiful "grass weave" and can be used with stronger vertical-spacers of cattail/reed/willows for larger, "traditional basketry" designs