Nettle bow atring tutorial. Anyone?
- Thread starter Skaukraft
- Start date
I must have taught hundreds of people to spin, and it's best described as Trishbo said when she learned; it's a lightbulb moment. It suddenly all just comes together 
and you've got it
I'm a pain; I honestly believe that machine made was made in emulation of the best of hand made. The ladies who taught me to spin were elderly, and their spinning was fine and even and sound. An awful lot of folks who spin now, spin 'designer' yarn.......all lumps and bumps and thick and thin, underspun, overspun........learn to make it right first and then you can play around with it all you like.
I think for the string you want, the fibres would be best worsted spun. That is with all of them lying in the one direction, not an open, airy, knitting wool type yarn, but a non stretch weaving type yarn. Smooth and even.
The bast fibres are best spun damp so keep a wee bowl of water beside you and use it to keep your fingers moist; or, if you can make a roving of the fibres first, just spray them with water from a plant mister bottle. (a cleaned out squirty cleanser bottle works fine too)
Oh no pressure; it's just among ourselves and we're interested
Flax is carded on a comb, and I use a metal dog comb to clean my nettle fibres. Just hold tight on the end of a bundle of the stuff and comb until the other end is open and clean, then turn the bundle round and do the other end.
I want the fibres all running parallel, and I find it easier that way. If I use carders I get a soft woolly like bundle.
cheers,
Toddy
and you've got it I'm a pain; I honestly believe that machine made was made in emulation of the best of hand made. The ladies who taught me to spin were elderly, and their spinning was fine and even and sound. An awful lot of folks who spin now, spin 'designer' yarn.......all lumps and bumps and thick and thin, underspun, overspun........learn to make it right first and then you can play around with it all you like.
I think for the string you want, the fibres would be best worsted spun. That is with all of them lying in the one direction, not an open, airy, knitting wool type yarn, but a non stretch weaving type yarn. Smooth and even.
The bast fibres are best spun damp so keep a wee bowl of water beside you and use it to keep your fingers moist; or, if you can make a roving of the fibres first, just spray them with water from a plant mister bottle. (a cleaned out squirty cleanser bottle works fine too)
Oh no pressure; it's just among ourselves and we're interested
Flax is carded on a comb, and I use a metal dog comb to clean my nettle fibres. Just hold tight on the end of a bundle of the stuff and comb until the other end is open and clean, then turn the bundle round and do the other end.
I want the fibres all running parallel, and I find it easier that way. If I use carders I get a soft woolly like bundle.
cheers,
Toddy
There are truly excellent flax spinners in Scandinavia though
and a long, unbroken tradition of weaving their own home linens. One of the ladies who taught me to weave learned Swedish so that she could make sense of their weaving books There's bound to be a group in Norway who can point you towards someone who'll teach you to spin ? Either on a drop spindle or the thigh rolling spindle. We have the Spinners, weavers and dyers guild here. Probably something similar near you.
I have a Scottish flax spinning wheel, and it's provenance accurately dates it to c1746, it still spins beautifully
Similar wheels were commonplace right across northern Europe; but I also have spindle whorls that range as far back as the Roman Empire in Britain........and you can make a drop spindle with very little effort cheers,
M
I'm sure there are sklled spinners around here somewere to, but I'm sure their ale and singel malt are not as good as yours
I'll have a chat with the lady at the office at my job, she's involved in some sewing/waving guild, maybe she's got some good tip.
I'll have a chat with the lady at the office at my job, she's involved in some sewing/waving guild, maybe she's got some good tip.
I tried spinning with a drop spindle at the Priddy Folk Fair, it went a bit fat and thin in places and had a few breaks but there was an improvement from the first bit I did to the end bit. A bit more practice (about 2 years) I might have got the hang of it
Yeah, I took mine down, thrashed the bundles against the fence to loosen the leaves and then I just sat and peeled the skins off by hand. I composted the leaves but the skins I just hung to dry in the house.
I did put some in water and they retted, and the fibres came free of the broken skins when I combed them out. I've only got a handful though, the smell was like the seaweed sheets used for sushi, sort of fishy tideline smell.
I got HWMBLT to take some photos, but there is only a handful of fibres. I'll find the photos and post them.
There's no drying outside in this weather
I don't think the rain's stoppped here all day.
cheers,
M
I did put some in water and they retted, and the fibres came free of the broken skins when I combed them out. I've only got a handful though, the smell was like the seaweed sheets used for sushi, sort of fishy tideline smell.
I got HWMBLT to take some photos, but there is only a handful of fibres. I'll find the photos and post them.
There's no drying outside in this weather
I don't think the rain's stoppped here all day.cheers,
M
i have made a bow string from nettle fibres for a 30lb draw weight bow. I think it took around 40 hours work to prepare the fibres removing all the chaff then twisting over 20m of fine two ply string. Then twisting 3 plys of the 2 ply together. You end up with a rather large diameter bow string. still no guarantees it wont break on the first arrow.
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