ANCIENT THREADS WORKING WITH GREEN NETTLES

A short film demonstrating how to extract strong, fine fibres from 'green' nettle plants to create thread. It also looks back into time and explores how our Neolithic ancestors may have been processing nettles to extract fibre for textiles.
If you would like to learn more and join a growing community of nettle enthusiasts, please check out the 'Nettles For Textiles' facebook page.
Textile Artist: Allan Brown
vimeo.com/2466...

[@megankilinski4580]

"I'm convinced these processes are still in our fingers..." What a poetic thought, communing with the ancestors perfectly describes the calm focus that comes over you when making and growing things :)

[@7626728]

Yeah he also could be joking about being stung........ it sucks

[@eire3073]

yes 😭it made cry that statement ! and then I think of all the kids that all they do with their fingers is tap and slide on screens 😭

[@Cellottia]

How nice to see a decently fine thread being produced instead of big clunky, chunky twines. This video shows us that a fibre and fabric suitable for next-to-skin clothing can be produced from nettles, which I'm really glad to see, as most of the other videos I've seen on producing yarn from nettles produce a discouragingly fat yarn. I believe nettles can produce a yarn and fabric comparable to those produced from linen and you have demonstrated that here. I'm so pleased to see this! I shall be trying out my own nettle fibre prep skills come Autumn. Should be interesting! Best wishes, K

[@QuantumPyrite_88.9]

Katherine Spencer-Howard Correct and some people think nettle fibers have to be kept in a long straight line for making cordage and weaving . I use what I call the "fuzz ball" method . Fibers are shredded and beaten with a hammer stone while rolled into a ball .... soaked in warm water and pounded some more until a very fine fuzzy fiber is produced . My last name is Howard . All the best

[@slhughes1267]

@@QuantumPyrite_88.9 What you're doing is using the "tow" fibers. Just like the flax classification of "tow". Our assorted ancestors didn't waste a thing.

[@esben181]

@@QuantumPyrite_88.9 Make a video of your process. Would be intriguing to watch

[@bella-bee]

When you’re adding more fibres to your cordage splicing, I’ve seen it done by laying a piece over both your working ends, halving the length of the new piece, and it becomes a u shape loop that disappears into the plied cord, but note there are no tufts sticking out afterwards, a less hairy yarn. See Sally Pointer’s channel. Also if you lay in the new fibre off centre, the two ends will not run out at the same time, so fewer lumps and bumps! Your fabric is splendid, very fine! You say it’s cool, but I wonder whether it’s also warm in winter? I agree, it’s soul satisfying to be able to make something from scratch. That’s why I learned to spin, to be able to do that. But I pray we never actually have to, better to control our lust for change and the next new fashion so we might enjoy the best of both old and new. Faint hope😔

[@mastinomama8939]

Creating something magical.... yes, exactly. That's how working with fibres of any kind makes you feel. It also changes your appreciation of clothing. Thank you for this great video.

[@lettersquash]

Thanks for this excellent, inspiring film. I especially appreciate the academic approach and your experimental archaeology. Processing the filaments with a flint comb is amazing. I imagine the whiteness of well processed nettle fibre might have been admired greatly (as well as the physical fineness), allowing better and brighter dyeing in woven clothing. Those are lovely pieces you made. I wonder what has become of them since. "Why bother when clothes can be bought so easily?" Because of that very fact. It's only when we labour over things we remember the value of hand-crafted items. I don't have anything as valuable.

[@Sarah-oj7bh]

I'm reminded of how Terry Pratchett described the old crafts: it maybe is a form of magic, having the technique in your fingers, being so connected to the final product. Viewed from the other side, this illustrates quite well what Marx meant when he wrote about worker's alienation from process and product.

[@carmenskankey3681]

Thank you for making this video. It’s super informative. I was reading Hans Christian Andersen’s The Wild Swans where the princess of the tale had to spin thread out of stinging nettles and I was wondering how that was done.

[@LastMinuteLaura]

This is such a great video. I love the part where your dog is under your arm while you explain! Thank you for this wonderfully informative video!

[@LavenderLori406]

I'm so glad I found you in here. You are magical!

[@primtones]

We can buy cheap, manifactured clothes and other goods, but we pay a bit of our soul with each purchase. Inspiring video.

[@mayamaeru]

It's about teaching us that our ancestors could have been capable of doing as you did, even in the time of Neanderthals. Thank you!

[@ajrwilde14]

Clicked 'cause of the dog, not disappointed!

[@tomlobur111]

That dog is a crack up!

[@normanshadow1]

I spin, so thankfully someone has done a proper job showing me one of the procedures

[@fritzwilhelm8258]

I've been looking for years, actual years, to find someone spinning fine thread rather than "cordage" and yarn. There's light at the end of the tunnel, as far as making nice clothing out of the stuff.

[@thornhedge9639]

I'm astounded you haven't done more videos...This was brilliantly done! Thanks for the inspiration and tutorial in one!

[@Just_Sara]

He's got more on Vimeo, if I remember right. :)

[@alienphysics8592]

I've seen several of your video's, some wonderful stuff........... I'm an old guy who's been making cordage all my younger days with various plants, specially nettles, eating the slightly boiled leaves also. Note on hand twisting fibers into cordage, many people use this method for making cordage of twisting with JUST their fingers but there is a faster method as follows : Take a small amount of fibers with the thickness you want for your cordage, place one end in one hand and the other end of the fibers in the other, then slightly twist to get the twist started so a loop begins to form, take the loop and pinch it with your teeth and continue twisting & turning alternately with both hands at the SAME time, adding more fibers as needed. This method is 2x faster and produces good cordage. Better description from a view of actually making cordage this way, I have the cordage loop pinched between my teeth, one end of fibers in each hand about 2 to 3 inches from face, I twist BOTH ends counter clockwise to create more twist on the fibers, then the fibers in my right hand I pinch with my thumb and index finger and rotate clockwise, but raise up my middle finger to grab the other end ( with middle finger holding the cordage against top of index finger ) which is also being rotated clockwise, this switches places and you simply apply more twist and rotate again repeating the same process. Once you have about 4 to 6 inches of cordage your hands are farther from your face, I usually just take a bite closer to the twist area and continue on.

[@jackp492]

Cheers fella handy tip

[@drogonsmommy]

Have you thought about doing a video to demonstrate this process?

[@davidbloem8122]

This man knows his stuf.

[@andrelloyd4010]

A wonderful video - Thank you for producing and kindly sharing the moments.🙏

[@mickerdoodle51]

Thank you. very well done. you take the mystery out of it. I can do this...

[@rachelcoleman4693]

Fascinating. ❤️

[@GoldenErnieEddy]

What a Sweet, loyal dog! I van only hope and dreams that my future dog Will Be like that.

[@milanthapamagar9]

Such process is used to make a traditional dress of Magar tribe in Nepal.

[@acquavivarreonpocho891]

So BEAUTIFUL! So nice ! 🌸🌸🌸🌸❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍👍🌵🌵🌵🌵🌵🔮🔮🔮🔮🔮🔮

[@bobbertbobby3975]

I for one hate that question. "Why do you bother with all that? Why do you do it?" Cause for me the answer is, "Um, cause I think its neat. I find it interesting and wanted to do it." And thats a completely valid reason. I dont think you need to justify yourself to those folks. If they dont see the reasoning, the logic behind it...then oh well.

[@ingeleonora-denouden6222]

People who don't understand ask such questions. You can try to explain, but still they don't understand. So, indeed, the best answer is: 'because I find this interesting and want to do it.'

[@canslawcaddy6662]

I get that exact question when I am metaldetecting. I usually tell them that I love finding historical objects and thats when I pull out of my pocket a handful of bottlecaps, "see there was a picnic here!"

[@stauffap]

Great video, thank you! I've been playing around with nettle fibres as well and had a hard time getting dried nettle fibres to become soft. I'll try working them while they are green.

[@kassilarani2948]

Thanks for this video. Everything is shown in order :)

[@TheBurghFamily]

Great stuff. Very helpful and beautifully filmed. Thank you

[@lyndasmith593]

Thank u for filming this. Your dog is a love.

[@ivanpeckham]

Simply amazing. And inspiring.

[@aex-blacksmithuk2111]

Wonderful video, thank you so much for it. :)

[@megang5732]

Have you heard of Birte Ford up in Scotland? She wrote a book about harvesting wild nettles for fiber. She says to use the stalks that nettles shoot up, with the flowers on top. So, not to use the green stem of the plant, but this other stalk that it shoots up separately (without the hairs). She says to let the stalks rett naturally over the winter, to harvest them in the early spring, and process them like flax. Look her up, she's an amazing source of knowledge!

[@jackriminton7959]

Great work, great dog :)

[@agnieszkalacka5021]

Amazing👍

[@utuber13x]

best presentation of working fibers, good job, want to make wicking cords to use for wicking water to plants to conserve water. I believe this material will work hopefully. Thanks for taking the time. Happily subcribed

[@ingeleonora-denouden6222]

Now I am trying this out I feel that it's true: 'these processes are (still) in our fingers'!

[@isabellewery2602]

Thanks for that wonderful vidéo and useful explanations :-) Your fingers are magic, and wise is your philosophy :-)

[@smilingyogi]

Nicely done. Really helpful too.

[@ravenwoolfe]

I’d love to see more videos on how you turn the nettle thread into the fabric?? Please?

[@gentlemanjack25]

Buddy you're something!

[@danieledondi2647]

Thanks for your video

[@jupitereuropa-e3w]

Thous videos are beautifuly indept and pleasant to watch. I just had the thought that someoe could soak the fibres in a base solution (maybe from burnt calk or sea shells mixed with water). Maybe for a few days or weeks. Then dry the fibres in the sun. This prozess may soften he fibre on a chemical level and may produce ever finer fibre of higher quality. But thats just a tought, I am no expert by any means. :) What do u guys think about that?

[@wardostyn6669]

I'm wondering, does somebody know how many square meters of nettles you would need for a meter of yarn or a m² woven fabric? Thaks for the help :-)

[@lesliecrawford187]

So interesting, and beautiful cloth! I've been trying to plan some nettle processing and this is intriguing. It reminds me of ramie processing in east asia, where (gathering from the youtube videos I've watched) they seem to do something similar- stripping the pith away green, then scraping the fibers and cellulose with a knife or on a board, letting that dry and combing it after it's dry. Does anyone know anything about that, and if nettles could be processed in a similar way?

[@ajrwilde14]

I've seen another video on here where somebody was combing a bundle of nettle fibres, it was so sulky and fine at the end.

[@bella-bee]

How would it be if you had a large stone to use as a table, then scrape more gently and maybe not break your fibres at the node

[@robinchwan]

where ever there is nettle there is suitable farmland because the soil is rich ( is what i've been taught) so make sense that they perhaps make settlements near nettles/water/trees/animals.. if you can satisfy all these you'll have a very good chance of finding more artifacts perhaps when you do archeology.

[@kaltonian]

that's a very good question regarding how did we boil things in the past ? that's if we did, also maybe we did not until one of the metal ages

[@ingeleonora-denouden6222]

I think (this is my own imagination, I am not a historian or archaeologist) when people had fire and they had clay, they made clay pots on the fire to cook/boil in. I don't know how long ago that was. Someone here mentioned Neanderthalers, I don't know if they were the first ones, or it was even before.

[@stephanieplatt6138]

What if you put the stalks in with earth worms would they eat the green and leave the fiber

[@17leprichaun]

fantastic work! thanks for sharing. how long did it take to make those two fabrics?

[@ratatoskr1069]

I remember a fairy tale where a maiden has to spin nettles and make pullovers for boys who are turned into swans. Only if she manages to make all the pullovers they will return to their human form. Can anyone tell me what fairy tale that was?

[@janar3438]

Hans Christian Andersen: The Wild Swans. We have similar fairy tale in our country - it's The Seven Ravens. The Ravens are brothers cursed by their own mother. Their sister wants to redeem them and makes the shirts from nettles. She must not speak during the whole process. I was wondering, as a child, how she could use nettles for making shirts. Now I am trying to do something similar and I'm still thinking about the Seven Ravens.

[@WonderingGreenMan]

Interesting! Thank you for sharing!

[@robinchwan]

you could probably make a better string if you did 3 strings and take left string through the middle over the right string then mirror it ( but also twist it towards the direction your next string goes so they all tighten on each other) or in short.. over twist right-under twist left- and go on as the strings will guide you what to do next

[@Trashpandapermaculture]

Does Allan Brown have a channel of his own or any additional videos covering other content?

[@Just_Sara]

I think he has other videos on Vimeo

[@stephanieplatt6138]

Nettle sojp

[@piyushbhattuk7367]

How you have been put it in fire

[@AnGrrydRaGon]

In the North America we have stinging nettles. Is that the same thing as in Europe?

[@codeklopper6790]

Yes. He is processing stinging nettles in this video. "Green nettles" in the title refers to processing them right after harvesting. Instead of retting them first and drying.

[@nancyskinner5207]

If someone has to ask you why you do this, you can’t explain it to them.

[@bashkillszombies]

Neolithic man wasn't stupid. Especially European neolithic man, he got a genetic kickstart with neanderthal DNA, neanderthal's had almost twice the bone density and a larger cranial hollow than modern humans. Also keep in mind that human intelligence hasn't evolved any, just our technology. So the desire to make things, and improve things, would have been burning away in the earliest of the cogniscient great apes.

[@RobCardIV]

why do the "ASMR" audio qualities appear when you are not speaking, and abandon while you are ? because fake.

[@sunshineflyer]

Did this by accident yesterday, and made a little cobweb weight yarn… amazing.

[@nickolashaesta1745]

Good job friend