and it's amazing the stuff that does make decent cord or rope.
I just braided it like a ponytail, then it’s strong .Twisting will make it break it’s hard to knot the 2 peices at the top .As singular strands are weak ,so once it’s braided you can tie end off by wrapping it around a stick. N tying a knot iff that’s makes sense it’s definitely strong enough for a nightline for fish with a gorge hook .And u can pull very long sections in my case 2 8 ft sections Iff your carefull ,n follow them gently without snapping them sometimes they go under the mud n bk out again so gentle tug digging may be required .Have a look at it tomorrow and give it a pull....
Cordage is fun
I have flax stooked just now to dry before I rett it.
M
I wouldn’t use any climbing ivy get it on woodland floor when young thin n supple.In my opinion ivy makes best base board for bowdrill also ivy also indicates were to hunt /find pigeons in winter it’s a great plantI have 2m high fences right along the laneside of my garden....gable wall side. Fence line there is over 70' long. It's covered in ivy
It's both my green wall and a wonderful wildlife habitat. It's full of wee birds, of insects, of hidey holes for weasels, hedgehogs, etc.,
I pull it back when it tries to invade the garden so one way and t'other I end up with a fair amount of ivy to play with. It makes a good dye, especially if I get to the berries before the woodpigeons do. I use it to bind seasonal wreaths, I use split bits of heavy stems for hearthboards for the bowdrill, I sometimes use it for basketry, but I have never found the cordage to last very well. It's brittle somehow. You're right though, plaiting it is kinder on the stems that twisting it.
M
Recently Iv messes around with dead goose grass sticky willies aswell .It’s ok but I don’t find it great other people swear by it though .
I imagine you'd be a long time chewing on them! They are very flexible and tough
There’s a ethnobotanist on YouTube who cooks them till soft n eats them il try find vid when I’m not busy
For zero prep though juvenile ivy on ground that’s still searching for a tree host and spruce roots are great I reckon eel skin would make great cordage but not legalCrocus leaves, withered and dried, make excellent cordage. So do the dried leaves of the flag iris, or indeed most iris'.
Right now I have lobellia in flower in the garden, but instead of pulling it out in Autumn I leave it to die back and dry off. Pull the plant then and it makes excellent string....it's part of the flax family.
Honeysuckle, clematis, bramble, briars, nettles, all good, but hands down best of all, even with the work involved in retting it, is the inner bark of the small leaved lime.
Absolutely superb
Yes lime cordage is great Iv yet to try horseradish leaf fibres aswellCrocus leaves, withered and dried, make excellent cordage. So do the dried leaves of the flag iris, or indeed most iris'.
Right now I have lobellia in flower in the garden, but instead of pulling it out in Autumn I leave it to die back and dry off. Pull the plant then and it makes excellent string....it's part of the flax family.
Honeysuckle, clematis, bramble, briars, nettles, all good, but hands down best of all, even with the work involved in retting it, is the inner bark of the small leaved lime.
Absolutely superb
Best in terms of strength you mean?hands down best of all, even with the work involved in retting it, is the inner bark of the small leaved lime.
Absolutely superb
