Natural Cordage

[1 pot hunter]

Today was messing about in woods experimenting.Ivy on trees is to thick and brittle ,but I messed about n braided 2 peices off ivy that was creeping on the woodland floor ,it’s much thinner .No processing nothing it makes extremely good cordage and I made 8ft length in less than 5 minutes.No twisting only braiding it will work as it’s stiff I reckon it might have been used as fishing line in the past v interesting .

 

[Toddy]

Have a look at it tomorrow and give it a pull....

Cordage is fun and it's amazing the stuff that does make decent cord or rope.

I have flax stooked just now to dry before I rett it.

M

 

[1 pot hunter]

Have a look at it tomorrow and give it a pull....

Cordage is fun and it's amazing the stuff that does make decent cord or rope.

I have flax stooked just now to dry before I rett it.

M

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 .

 

[Kadushu]

If you every find a hop... The stems are ok but the roots are incredible.

 

[Toddy]

I 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

 

[1 pot hunter]

I 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

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 plant

 

[1 pot hunter]

If you every find a hop... The stems are ok but the roots are incredible.

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 .

 

[1 pot hunter]

If you every find a hop... The stems are ok but the roots are incredible.

I’m also under the belief hop roots are edible n full offstarch .

 

[Kadushu]

I’m also under the belief hop roots are edible n full offstarch .

I imagine you'd be a long time chewing on them! They are very flexible and tough

 

[Toddy]

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 .

Crocus 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

 

[1 pot hunter]

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

 

[1 pot hunter]

Crocus 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

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 legal

 

[1 pot hunter]

Crocus 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 aswell

 

[n00b]

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?

 

[Toddy]

In strength, in the way it plies up, in the way it handles, in the way it lasts. Just lovely, lovely stuff.

 

[slowworm]

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.

Interesting you say small leaved lime. I planted small and large leaved limes on my wood about 12 years ago and they've grown into some very nice trees. They are now shading out their lower branches which are dying off and the outer bark is falling away leaving strands of bast. It's very easy to pull off a couple of strands, give a quick twist and use as cord. It's strong enough I can't brake the cord by tugging.

I'll plant some more around our house as it'll provide free cord for tying plants up in the garden.

Here's a poor pic.

 

[Toddy]

Isn't it lovely stuff and that is brilliant to see, naturally retted, no stink, just fibres

It makes a superb rope, and it's the kind of rope that's kind on the hands too.

You are a lucky man

 

[Broch]

No lime in our woods

 

[Toddy]

Do you have willow though ? Willow bast is very good too.

 

[GreyCat]

Do you have willow though ? Willow bast is very good too.

You can also weave the bark.

Not the time of year to remove it at the moment though, when the sap is rising in spring it peels off cut willow really easily, coil up the loose strips and dry, store in a dry place, then soak in warm water for 20 min or so before use.

I saved some in one of those "just in case" moments last spring when a wild willow fell over my fence in a storm and I had to cut it away from my beds, only later when I did a willow bark weaving class did I find how useful it is (and wish I had saved more!).

Is there a specific time of year to best remove lime or even birch bark, I wonder?

GC