Preparing Wild-crafted Plant Fibres for Storage

[@delldell21]

You sound like a lovely person, these are such relaxing videos.

[@SallyPointer]

Thank you 😊

[@hanavesela5884]

I wish my hair would look this Gorgeous when not brushed 🤗

[@Just_Sara]

This is going to be one of those videos that I purposely come back and watch in the winter, just to remember the summer. :)

[@SallyPointer]

In my case, whilst thinking 'why didn't I pick more of that whilst I had the chance!'

[@andyg5606]

Great video, thanks Sally! Perfect timing - just as last year's fibres are getting muddled with this year's!

[@bobbyesamdahl]

At least you label things!!!lol thank you!

[@kitdubhran2968]

I love your hedge bothering videos. And I love that you call it hedge bothering. I’ve got boat-loads of brambles around my property, and I’ll be happy to process them and get them cleaned up AND useful. Lovely. Can’t wait to see what we are going to do with them. We’ve spun with rose fibers before so we’re kind of tempted to see how fine we can get blackberry fibers. Any ideas/advice?

[@Just_Sara]

ROSE fibers? :O Wow!

[@SallyPointer]

Rose briar fibres are lovely, they even smell rosy don't they! You'll find bramble almost identical to work with.

[@laightnightknits4358]

Such a lovely video with your calm voice. I love the images of nature and your magic tidying! ☺🥰 ♥

[@friedasorber1653]

Very nice video. I am contuing to experiment with cordage in different fibers. In one of your videos you talk about rhubarb. It works wonderfully but after a few weeks the cords are very brittle. I experienced the same with butterbur, petasites hybridus. Am I doing something wrong? In both cases I peeled the fiber layer of, gently scraped, separated in thin ribbons and let dry. Then slightly moistened to make the cordage.

[@guildofsayntlukemedievalar9024]

Love these videos Sally.

[@SallyPointer]

Thank you!

[@finnmacky7106]

Your videos are so entertaining and educational.

[@SallyPointer]

Thank you!

[@robinmorton8585]

great to find ya. i'm unorganised. thank you

[@1aliveandwell]

Will have a look at your prepping vids as tried to get some fiber from old sweet pea plants that are drying up. They seem fibrous. Yes, want to label and organize better (lots of dried stuff for scents...)

[@SallyPointer]

That's a great idea, let me know how it goes, I haven't tried getting fibres from sweet peas!

[@dacenmclean7901]

@@SallyPointer it actually works really well. I used it for the core of a bow string, it was wonderful.

[@1heUndertaker]

@@dacenmclean7901 Hi, I'm new to making natural cordage and beginning the journey of experimentation. Your use of natural cordage for a bowstring is very interesting to me, as I would like to learn this ! What draw weight was/is the bow? Is it a self-bow or recurve or some other type? Do you have any further info on what you used and how you made it? Thanks in advance !

[@LavenderLori406]

You're a genius Sally Pointer

[@Suburbanstoneage]

I'm excited to gather fibers for winter! And I think hedge bothering is a sensational term. We don't have propped hedges here, but I think that will still be ok

[@SallyPointer]

A few years ago, in a fit of silliness, we came up with a 'scientific description' of a hedge-botherer 😆 I think even with the hedge bit it still works in other settings HedgeBotherer: Saepium perturbatrix rusticarum (f),Saepium perturbator rusticarum (m). An increasingly scarce and often crepuscular species generally found furtling in hedgerows in search of interesting forage. Identifying marks may include twigs in hair, scratched forearms, mysteriously bulging pockets, stained hands, and a tendency to talk to shrubbery.

[@Suburbanstoneage]

@@SallyPointer oh my gosh, that description is perfect, right down to the twigs in hair! I think I've found my species. Also known to have mud smacks on cheeks and clothing, and pockets full of pretty and interesting seeds and rocks found whilst out in the weeds.

[@magnuswootton6181]

the speed that wild grass grows, youd think there would be never ending hay on the ground everywhere!!!

[@russeljoybasindanan9365]

Thanks a lot this really helps me out alot especially in the novel im writing

[@dr.lexwinter8604]

0:15 'Of course what we perceive of as being the outdoor natural world today isn't, is it, it's is a human construct.' And has been since the neolithic era, many tens of thousands of years ago. Every forest maintained by fire and axe, every field removed of stones and stumps. This is the outdoor natural world, as we are part of nature.

[@delldell21]

Unfortunately i think we've been a bit of a victim of our own success in that regard, mono cultures and the decimation of the natural world for example. :/

[@Hamespun]

Thanks Sally, really enjoyed that. K

[@henrifischer1119]

if you want use one of those stored and very dry bunches of fiber, do you (partially) hydrate them first?

[@SallyPointer]

Just barely dampen them, I usually either run them under the tap or dip them in water briefly, then wrap in a cloth until needed.

[@joy_geulon]

Wonderful here! What country you live?

[@SallyPointer]

I'm in the UK, most of my videos are filmed in Herefordshire

[@kellydolan9717]

In late summer getting into fall like September is it better to rett nettles a bit to make getting the fiber easier?

[@SallyPointer]

You could definitely try it. I've stopped picking for my methods now, but a trial ret of a bundle of stalks is worth trying to see if they are still good in your area

[@kellydolan9717]

@@SallyPointer I would love to try it but here in high dry Colorado there are not many naturalized patches of nettle. I am going to find out how well they do here because they are sold at garden stores.

[@Yorkshiremadmick]

WOW Never realised that your legs were so LONG Great Video 👍🏻🙏🏻👍🏻

[@Timmyjg2004]

What happens when it fully drys and it’s more brittle after it’s been make into cordage

[@SallyPointer]

Same answer as in the other post, mature fibre shouldn't be brittle

[@jeremy173225]

Hey ma'am, I've got a question if you don't mind. Can you split fibers (i.e. nettles) let them dry unscraped and then soak them to scrape later?

[@SallyPointer]

I think it's easier to just keep going from that point with rolling between the palms, running over a blunt (ish) edge and generally breaking down the bonds. It never seems to scrape as well as it does when fresh, but definitely worth trying both ways and see what works best for you!

[@jeremy173225]

@@SallyPointer So you can get similar results processing dry fibers? I'm still figuring all this out. I've got plenty of time to collect during the day, but the processing has to wait some times and they usually dry out by the time I get to them.

[@Yirggzmb]

@@jeremy173225 My first foray into foraged fibers was with some okra stalks from my parents' garden. Due to circumstances (ie, forgetting about them) by the time I got around to processing, they were bone dry. Stripped the inner core out, and then got the bulk of the bark off by rubbing bits of the bundle between my hands until I was more or less down to just fiber. So you can definitely get decent fiber from dry materials. I just recommend wearing a mask, as dust flew in every direction as I worked.

[@sophievautour8573]

I need to find fibres for twining but it is winter and I find them quite brittle...I wonder if you have tricks, like soaking them in water...? Thanks!

[@SallyPointer]

It's always worth collecting when fibres are at their peak. Some regions do get winter retted fibre, but usually they are pretty cold and dry, it's almost never any good round here where we are fairly wet.

[@sophievautour8573]

@@SallyPointer Humm! I think I will explore with stripping bark! Winter is the season when the sap is down. I wonder if neolithics also did this.. Anyway many cultures stripped cedar and willow for basketry...

[@imperatorcaesardivifiliusa3805]

Once when I collected nettles I accidentally left them in a plastic bag. I just told myself the bag was open so they could dry out.... When I came back to them they had transformed into a green goo :/

[@SallyPointer]

Oops!

[@ateliermailart3371]

Hi Sally, thank you for your video. Could you write in the information section of the video the name of your plants, because I am French and I do not understand the name of them? Thank you and best regards. Have a perfect day. ☀️

[@SallyPointer]

Did I not put the botanical names in the video itself? that's unlike me. Sorry about that, will update in due course. It's just Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) Burdock (arctium lappa) and nettle (urtica dioica) in this one, nothing unusual.

[@ateliermailart3371]

@@SallyPointer thank you so much ☀️