Cordage from stinging nettle fibre

The nettle stem is square and hollow inside. From the outside in there is a thin green skin, a layer of long bast fibres and a woody, brittle core. The fibres run almost the full length of the stem. So the rule is: the longer the stem, the longer the fibres you get – and the fewer joins your cord will need later.

The woody core snaps when you bend it, whereas the fibres are flexible and tough. You use exactly this difference: you bend the core at short intervals and peel the fibre ribbons off it. As they dry the ribbons lose water, become paler and can later be split into fine bundles.

In two-ply twisting you twist each of two fibre bundles in one direction and lay them around each other in the opposite direction. The two twists work against each other and lock each other in place. So the cord does not unravel, even though the individual fibres are not endlessly long.

The right time is decisive. In spring the shoots are soft and the fibres short and weak. In late summer and autumn the stems are long and the fibres mature. Choose the longest, straightest stems without many side shoots and take only a few from a large stand.

When breaking out the core, work patiently from the middle towards the ends. If you pull too fast, the fibre ribbons tear off. The green outer skin can stay on; it partly crumbles off by itself after drying. If you want finer cord, scrape it off lightly beforehand with the back of the knife.

Dry the ribbons hung up loosely in an airy, shady place. Crumpled up and damp they go mouldy. Before twisting, dampen them briefly so they become supple. When twisting, always add new fibres at staggered points, never in both strands at the same spot – that is where the cord would be weakest.

The nettle's stinging hairs are tiny tubes that break off when touched and release irritating substances into the skin. This burns and itches but is usually harmless and goes away on its own. Gloves and long sleeves prevent it almost completely. Anyone who reacts allergically – with swelling of the face or difficulty breathing – needs help at once: call 112, in Austria also 144.

When cutting the stems the normal knife rules apply: cut away from the body, keep your free hand behind the blade and keep enough distance from other people. Afterwards the knife goes back into its sheath.

The finished cord has no known strength. Home-made plant cord can suddenly break at a thin spot. Never use it for climbing, for securing people or for loads with anyone underneath.

Nettle cord is ideal for understanding how people made cord without factories. In camp it is good for light lashings, a small net bag, a necklace or tying up bundles of tinder. For a group it is a nice project over several days: harvest, dry, twist.

If you have proper cord with you, the bought kind is always stronger and more reliable. For tent, tarp, loads or emergencies involving people you therefore use paracord or accessory cord. Nettle cord is an addition and a skill, not a replacement for good equipment.

Nettles are food plants for the caterpillars of many butterflies, for example the peacock and the small tortoiseshell. So you take only a small part of a stand and leave the rest. At field edges and on other people's land the rule is the same: ask first.

Twisting is easiest to learn with bought jute or sisal twine that you unravel. Once the movement is second nature, switching to nettle fibre is easy. Nettle fibre behaves similarly, just a little less evenly.

This entry covers only the fibre. Whether and how to eat nettles does not belong here – you only eat wild plants that you recognise with one hundred per cent certainty.