A&S: The Nettle Project Fall 2024

 Prologue

    This nettle project has been an ongoing labor of love for many years, starting even before I joined the SCA. From thinking I was going to grow a bed of nettle at my parents' house to buying a pot from a local nursery, I have at multiple times made an attempt and then failed. I will fully say that with this first real attempt at processing nettle I do not expect to succeed. This is not me being humble, or shy, or what-have-you, this is me fully acknowledging my own limits. I will likely fail. The best part of failing, though, is the opportunity to learn.

    This post contains the full A&S report that I have written. I apologize for the length; I did try to make this as interesting as I could. The report is broken up into different parts. The first explains the gathering and processing of the nettle. The second part goes into the creation of three processing tools created for the project. Lastly, I discuss attempting again to process the nettle. I really hope that this project is entertaining at the very least and informative at the best.

 Introduction

Near the beginning of Pennsic 2023, a friend messaged me to let me know he had stinging nettle growing in his garden. The last time he tried to tell me he had nettle for me, it ended up being a type of thistle and while pointy and slightly painful, it was not the stinging nettle that I had been looking for. Thankfully, this time around it was indeed the correct plant. On October 15^th, I drove to his house in Maine and cut it down, aiming to cut it as far to the bottom as I could. While most of the leaves were gone on the stem, there were still a few leaves left on the plant that contained some sting. Ask my face how I know.

            What makes stinging nettle so interesting to me? Urtica dioica, stinging nettle, is a plant that many would consider a nasty weed. In the United States, it grows in areas that had been previously disturbed such as alongside farmed fields, near old houses, or close to chicken coops. The leaves carry a hollow hair that, when touched, breaks off and “injects a little dose of histamine, acetylcholine, serotonin and formic acid” (Stinging, n.d.). Add to this the pervasive way that it grows (aggressively), and nettle gains a bad reputation that has most people getting rid of it as soon as they can. Think mint, but with more bite.

            Despite this bad reputation, Urtica dioica has many uses. After gathering the leaves in the spring (younger leaves are better for this purpose), you can use them as a substitute for spinach or other greens, or even use them in recipes like nettle soup. Nettle has a high level of protein when compared to other plants, upwards of 33%, contain few calories, and a multitude of vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, etc., that make it a very nutritious plant to consume (Adhikari et al., 2015). Stinging nettle is used in folk medicine for a myriad of purposes from acting as a diuretic to managing blood sugar to assisting with prostate health (WebMD, n.d.). My favorite home remedy use for stinging nettles is for those with arthritis; fresh leaves placed on the affected area allegedly help to reduce the severity of arthritis. This has not been proven by medical studies and I have to wonder if the positive result is more from the nettle sting being worse than the arthritis than from the sting actually helping, although any relief should be considered good. Nettle can also be used as a natural dye for fiber, with the roots giving a yellow color and the leaves giving a soft green. The final purpose of nettle is for its use in textiles, which is the purpose of this project.

            The book that got me interested originally in stinging nettle was called Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier (if you go to read it, look for the trigger warnings first). This is a retelling of “The Six Swans” by the Brothers Grimm where instead of aster the main character collects stinging nettle to make shirts. Some renditions of the “Six Swans” have the main character collecting nettle, but it depends on the location where you are hearing the tale. Originally, I read Marillier’s book in high school, but my interest in knitting and fiber arts led me back the story and to nettle as a potential plant for fiber. At one point I bought seeds from Baker Creek with the intention of planting a small parcel on my parent’s property (an idea that never came fully to fruition). Other areas where nettle makes an appearance include in the “Nine Herbs Charm,” which is Old English in origin and dates to the ninth or tenth century (Nigon, n.d.).

            I cannot recall at the time of this writing what else has driven me to become slightly obsessed with nettle, so much so that I decided to permanently ink my arm with a stalk of nettle next to my other favorite plant, lavender. At one point, I attempted to grow nettle in a pot with the intention of keeping it in my house, but I threw it out when it developed spider mites, fearing that it would infect my other houseplants. Eventually, I would love to have my own plot of land with enough space and fewer neighbors to judge me, so that I can grow whatever I want.

            Thanks to the kindness of my friend, I was able to harvest an amount of nettle that should be suitable to use in experimenting. My estimate is that I collected about ten pounds of nettle, with most of the stems being above five feet. It took me about two hours to cut them because I forgot a good set of trimmers and ended up using my small knife. Getting this close to the plant made me feel closer to the project, and the ground, which at the time was quite damp. I do not expect a great yield of fiber from this bounty, as most internet searches suggest that nettles will only give about 2% of its weight to fiber use.

 

Goals

The quick goal:

Create a usable fiber that can be turned into yarn and then into cloth.

The not quick goal:

            My goal with this project was to create a usable fiber from stinging nettle that I could eventually turn into yarn and then into cloth. I am an experienced knitter, but I have not tried my hand at taking a fiber material at the start of its journey (on a sheep, in a field, etc.) and turned it into a useable product. The closest I have come is taking wool roving to learn how to spin. Taking a plant material from its natural state to turn into fiber is something that is outside of my realm of skill, and my hopes with this project is that I can become skilled.

            To be able to achieve this goal, I also have to create the tools for processing the nettle. This includes a flax brake, scutching knife, scutching board, and heckles. As described further in this paper, these tools are not easily come by in newly made condition and antique ones are usually either outside of my price range or decorated with the intention of display. I want usable tools that I will not be afraid to break. As someone who is not a carpenter, the creation of these tools will be another skill to develop.

 

Historical Use as a Textile

            Nettle was commonly used for cordage in the Bronze Age for use in ropes and netting; the process for cordage does not require the same process that using it for textiles would. One can cut a stalk of nettle, pull off the outer husk, let it dry for a bit, and then wind this by hand. They would have used nettle to create cloth, using it alongside flax and hemp, which leaves an issue for those of us interested in the fiber content of clothing finds; it is very difficult to tell the difference between flax, hemp, and nettle fibers (Bergfjord et al., 2012). A study was done on a Bronze Age textile from Lusehøj, Denmark where it was determined that the textile found in an urn was in fact made from nettle. The same paper also suggests that even though the nettle was likely a plant foraged and not cultivated, it was not believed to be a lesser quality plant.
          Stinging nettle continued to be used for cloth up until the 16^th century, give or take, when the cotton industry became more productive (Know, 2020). This is to be expected; why would anyone want to try to cultivate an aggressive plant that only drops 2% of its weight in fiber when easier to harvest and more productive plants exist? Linen at least gives 10% of itself to fiber, does not bite, and is easier to cultivate than nettle.

Figure 1 The Field in which the nettle grew (nettle pictured).

The Collecting and Retting Process According to Muirgel (aka experimental)

• Cut the nettle stalk as close to the base as possible. Theoretically, the taller the plant the longer the fiber, which makes it easier to spin. There is a Facebook group called “Nettles for Textiles” where people have attempted this process before. Some have suggested that carding the fiber will break the strands, which will increase the difficulty to spin, but will also make the result softer. At this point in time, I have not made the decision as to whether I will card or not. It may make sense to lend half of my experimental fiber to carding and half to remain uncarded to see which will work best for my eventual plans.
• While stacking the stalks into a pile, I ran a gloved hand down the stem to remove the leaves. At this time of the year, the leaves are not in a prime eating stage, and they are too old to use for dyeing. Without the leaves, the stalks will travel easier (strapped down to the top of my Ford Escape) and my chances of being “bitten” much reduced.

 

Figure 2 Harvested nettled with most of the leaves removed.

• I made the choice to ret my nettle in my yard. To do this, I chose an area where my dog could not reach as he likes to urinate on everything outside (everything). The only clear area I had at this juncture was a three-foot wide five-foot-long space in my side garden next to the driveway where some of my vegetables had been.

Figure 3 Nettle retting in the driveway plot.

• The nettle was left to sit in this area of my garden. I would flip it every day or so. There was some distraction at this point on account of a cat deciding to move her kittens underneath my garage. The nettle took a backseat while I spent my free time attempting to catch these wily critters. Thankfully, I did manage to catch them, and three of the four were brought to a rescue. The third and most difficult to catch kitten was stolen from me by my mother.
• After some time, I took the nettle inside to dry. The total time the nettle stalks were in my yard was roughly three weeks. It is possible that the nettle could have stayed out there longer because the weather had started to get chilly and may have slowed the process.

The Process of Processing (Take One)

                The plumber was in the basement messing up the outgoing pipes where they went through the cement, so I was also in the basement taking photos and cursing the day I decided to pursue having a utility sink in the studio. One benefit of this was remembering that I had nettle drying out. It had been about a week since I had hung the stalks to dry out and they appeared to be ready to process into fiber. Or at least, I hoped so. My intention was to pursue processing the nettle in a similar manner to processing flax, keeping in mind that nettle had some different properties.

                There is a Facebook group called “Nettles for Textiles” that is a well of information on the subject, although the ways to process nettle according to the group is varied and likely dependent on location and personal tastes. Some people suggest that the nettle should be broken immediately after cutting, while others suggest breaking after retting. Others suggest retting and drying, and then processing. It is the latter option that I decided to use, as during the retting I was incredibly distracted with trying to catch the cats. I cannot tell you how much time I spent worrying about them.

                The first part of processing involves breaking the plant without breaking it apart to loosen the outer bark. For flax, one would use a flax break to do this. For nettle, the process would be similar, although most of the advice given in the Facebook group seems to say to process in lesser amounts (a few stalks at a time) and not as a larger collection as you would flax. This makes the process more intimate, but also more time-consuming. In December of 2023 I attempted to break the nettle by making a wooden hammer from a 4x4” and the end of a broom stick. My idea was to break the nettle with a hammer; it did not work. I even recorded the attempt in three different angles, so I have three different angles of my failure recorded for posterity.
            I concluded after my failure that the issue was with the retting. The nettle was still strong and not easily broken down. I set the bundle aside to ret at a later date in the spring.

Figure 4 My first attempt at breaking, with a homemade hammer, which ended in failure. It was not, in fact, fine.

Redo of the Retting Process

            Panteria was looming and I had to drive to Maine to drop my dog off at my mother’s house before the weekend event. I was also going to hang out for a couple of days, but before I went, I decided to get the nettle started again. My motivation for projects in the last couple of years have gone through episodes of “yes, let’s do this” and “ugh, I should be working on this.” Pre-Panteria, I was motivated again. I broke the nettle down so that it would fit into a large tote, getting rid of the smaller tips, which is something I should have done when I first picked it. I tossed the nettle in the tote, filled the tote with water, and then put a large cement tile on top of the nettle to weigh it down. There was no way this could go wrong.

            I got back to my house on Thursday and started to load my car for the weekend’s event. There was a slight smell in the air that I figured was just “odeur de ville de merde” and did not think anything of it. Happily, I traveled to Vermont and had an excellent weekend with friends. When I got home, the smell was stronger, but again, I did not think anything of it. I then went back to Maine to get my dog, returning to New Hampshire soon after.

            When I got home, my driveway smelled like a retirement home of snails died on a beach after having an orgy. It was so bad, I would not have been surprised if a neighbor called the police to do a welfare check on my property (although, I think I would have been more surprised someone in this town cared about someone else’s welfare; this is not a happy place). Realizing it was the tote of nettle, I dumped the water on my driveway. This made things worse. I honestly did not have much else for options, because it was probably close to 30 gallons of gross-smelling water, but there may have been something else I could have done if I hadn’t panicked. I also sprayed the nettle down with the hose before setting it aside to dry (again) and then spraying my driveway down after dumping a bunch of dish soap on the pavement. Thankfully, the smell dissipated fairly quickly. Lesson learned; the smell is why fiber products are usually retted in running water and not in the driveway in the middle of a city.
        Once the nettle dried, it got set aside again because I had to replan how I was going to break the nettle stalks. After some reason, I realized I should have used my thumbnail to split the stalks prior to retting and drying. Some research led me to wonder if I should try to find or build flax processing equipment. I was determined to process the nettle I had labored over so much, but other things in my life became more important to focus on. Once again, the nettle would have to wait, this time until I found a flax break and a scutching knife.

The Process of Processing (Take Two)

Introduction

Once your fiber product is properly retted and dried, it is time to “dress” it. This involves three steps; breaking (beaten), scutching (scraped) and heckling (combed) (Hirst, 2019). For breaking, the goal is to force the bark or casing around the fiber to break apart so that you can then scutch or scrape it off in the next step. The third step, heckling, combs the fiber into separate strands. This document will outline the process of creating the tools I need to process plant material into useable fiber for making yarn and then cloth.

            After I retted my nettle in May 2024, I attempted again to break my nettle using the wooden mallet I had made the previous December. After about ten minutes with very little result, I decided to step back and rethink my process. Unfortunately, my motivation to continue was non-existent and the bundle of nettle got put back into the garage where it stayed, in the way, all summer. After tripping over it in the beginning of September 2024, I finally got frustrated enough to start the search for the various tools to process my nettle.

The Flax Brake

            My search was disappointing. Used flax brakes on eBay have gone for over $300. My search for new ones led me to discover that Amazon does not, in fact, have everything (figure 5). Determining that a used or antique flax brake was outside of my budget, I looked for DIYs to make one on my own. This would likely be cheaper in terms of money, although more expensive in time.

Figure 5 I don't believe these things have anything to do with what I'm looking for.

            My ideal brake would be something that would be more easily stored or taken apart. The blueprint I decided on was for a smaller brake that would sit on a table and was able to be clamped down if needed. I call it a blueprint, but it is more of a parts list with an outline of the steps and can be found on the “Spindles in the Wild” website. I will not list everything in this writeup because it can be found on their site, but I will outline some of the lessons I learned from making my own version of it. 
        If all the parts were had, the flax break could be done in one afternoon. If you had some of the fancier tools like a table saw, you could make one in a couple of hours. Lacking a table saw, it took me the better part of the afternoon. They did not list how many lengths of wood you would need; I ended up requiring only four 6’ lengths of 2x3. I decided to follow the directions as they were written without realizing the mistake the author made in describing which boards needed to be shaped. It made sense to me that it should be the top rails, but they were specific in that the base rails needed to have a 45° cut. I realized their mistake and my mistake after having already cut them. This does not affect the end result, but if you attempt the pattern only cut the ends on the top rails.
        The table saw would have come in handy when shaping the tops of the base rails and the bottoms of the top rails. I had to make do with an orbital sander with 80 grit paper, of which I used three sheets. I am content with the result, although the rails could be a bit “sharper” or more pointed.
        My flax brake is based on a DIY guide I found online, one of the only ones I was able to find, and not completely modeled after a medieval version that I am aware of. The earliest flax brakes were wooden clubs or mallets (König, 2020). Later, they evolved into something like a long flat hammer on a stick that could be swung (figure 6). Ever wanting a less physically challenging job, the flax brake evolved even further into a tool that would take less energy to use. This newer version of the flax brake had a handle and either sat on its own four legs or a table. When the handle was lifted, flax was inserted, and the handle brought down upon the flax or plant material to break it.

Figure 6 Two men working with flax brakes while a woman scutches (Book, n.d.)

Time Period and Location

The flax brake (or break, either is fine) is estimated to have been invented around the 13^th century in northwestern Europe (König, 2020). The tool is mentioned in writings but the earliest shown one is in a fresco that dates to 1465. The flax brake I have made is close to the one seen in the “Heures á l’usage de Rome” that dates to 1555 (Amiens, n.d.), although it is not an exact match.

König suggests that the flax brake could be Dutch in origin, although earlier finds could suggest Germany (König, 2020). For ease of writing, we will say northwestern Europe. The flax brake mine most closely resembles is French in origin.

Materials

·       Finished pine 1”x3”x6’ (four total)

·       ½” hardwood dowel

·       1 ¼” finishing nails

·       Wood screws, 2”

·       Circular saw, jigsaw, orbital sander, drill

·       A ludicrous amount of 80 grit sandpaper pads

·       Washers, ½” inner diameter, 2” outer diameter

·       ½” forstner bit, ¾” forstner bit

·       Personal protective equipment (PPE)

 Process

            The plans for a flax brake were found on the “Spindles in the Wild” website, where Patti O’Brien Beaumont was kind enough to outline her design in a way that others could follow it. There is a list of the cuts and pieces you would need to make your own, including the quantity for each. The process for building the brake involved following her directions. There is one error in the directions, as mentioned earlier, but if you proceed with this in mind then making the brake should be easy enough.

Figure 7 Compilation photo of some of the steps

            The one area where there was difficulty was in shaping the tops and bottoms of the rails. In order for the brake to work as intended, there should be an edge to the rails. The easiest way to make this edge is with a table saw set to an angle. Unfortunately, I am without table saw, so I ended up making the edge by sanding it. While this works, it was time consuming. Beaumont also suggests that you can increase the distance between the rails to help break the fiber by using more washers, but you would have to keep this in mind and increase the dowel length. The page specifically used for the brake is mentioned in the reference section of this paper; I highly recommend checking out her site if you intend to make your own.
    If I were to do this project again, I would use hardwood and find a table saw. I would also like to attempt to make one using tools that they would have had in period.

Scutching Knife

            Once the fiber has gone through the flax brake, it is time to scutch it. The point of scutching is to take away the rest of the outside bark of the fiber plant by whacking the knife against the fiber while it rests against a surface. The knife is usually wooden and not sharp.

Like the flax brake, there is not much call for newly made scutching knives. At the time of drafting this paper, vintage ones can be found being sold by shops in Estonia for a reasonable price, although these are painted objects likely intended for decoration. Antique ones can also be found on sites like eBay, but for much more than I am willing to spend on something that will likely be forgotten about in the garage after use. DIYs for scutching knives are also far and few; the best one I’ve found is a lovely video on YouTube by Torbjörn Ähman titled “Carving a scutching knife (Growing 1 m² of FLAX part 3)” (Ähman, 2022). 

Time Period and Location

Neolithic to Modern

The Cotswold Archaeology Virtual Museum has a display for a scutching knife found in Bishop’s Cleeve, Gloucestershire (Cotswold, 2024). The display suggests that the knife is of Bronze Age origins, and although there is no proof that the knife was used for the production of fiber materials, it resembles a scutching knife enough that the virtual museum has labeled it as such. Other scutching knives can be found in 16^Th century art, such as in the Da Costa Hours, MS M.399, fol. 12v (MS, 2018). In this image, men are breaking the flax with hand tools while a woman in the background uses a scutching knife against a scutching board.

Figure 8 Bronze age "scutching" knife (Cotswold, 2024)

Scutching knives can be found throughout Europe. The French book of hours, “Heures á l’usage de Rome,” shows a woman using a knife similar enough to the one I made. Other depictions of scutching knives have them looking more like paddles.

Materials

• White wood board, roughly 16”x9” and 1” thick
• Jigsaw, circular saw, and orbital sander
• Another ludicrous amount of 80 grit sandpaper
• Personal protective equipment (PPE) 

Figure 9 The board with my design drawn out.

Process

            The video makes the process look simple. Just get a properly sized chunk of wood, trace out the design, cut, and then shape. Ähman uses proper carpentry tools that I do not have in my garage. The resulting scutching knife turned out pretty well for something that I eyeballed. I ended up using my circular saw for some sketchy 45° cutting, a jigsaw, an orbital sander, and close to three or four pads of 80 grit sandpaper.

            After looking at pictures of scutching knives online, I had an idea of the shape I wanted. Butcher knife, but bigger, less sharp, and more wooden. I drew out my idea onto a piece of wood I had that was roughly 16” x 9” and ¾” thick (it is supposed to be 1” thick, but its real thickness is less). The wood was whitewood or pine; it was something that had been sitting in the garage waiting to get used. Once I had my idea sketched onto the board, I cut the long straight end with my circular saw (the top of the knife) and the rounded ends with my jigsaw. After this, I went back to the circular saw, moved it to a 45° angle, and cut one side of the blade so that it was angled. Unfortunately, I could not figure out a safe way to do this to the other side of the blade. This is where a table saw would have come in handy.

            After the cuts were done, I loaded up the sander with 80 grit paper and started sanding down the edge. My goal was to create a knife edge that would be suitable for scutching. Once I liked one edge, I flipped the knife and sanded down the other. When that was satisfactory, I continued shaping the handle and top of the knife. I drilled a ¾” hole in the knob of the handle with the intention of adding a spliced line to the end so that I can hang it off the scutching board.

The Steps

1. Trace out the design onto the wood board.
2. Using the circular saw, cut the board along the straight edges. Then take the jigsaw and cut the bendy parts.
3. Adjust the circular saw so that there is a 45° and carefully cut alongside the edge of the blade. If you are able, flip the knife and do the same for the other side. I was not able to safely do this for one side of the knife, so I used sandpaper for shaping.
4. Using the sander and rough sandpaper, start forming an edge on both sides of the blade. Sand the handle as well. Take a 220 grit to the handle afterwards to make it smoother.

Scutching Board

            The scutching board provides a surface to scutch the fiber on. It is typically a piece of wood that is upright and has a rounded edge at the top, so that you don’t end up cutting the fiber on the corners. As with the other tools used for processing plant materials into fiber, there are not a lot of solid guides on how to make the item.

            Thankfully, there are plenty of photos online of both antique versions, modern versions, and illuminations depicting scutching boards in period. As with the scutching knife, I have an idea of what I’d like to do for the scutching board and while the finished product is not necessarily period, it does pack down for easy travel.

Time Period and Location

            There are depictions of the scutching knife being used in a fresco from around the 14^th century (König, 2020). The woman using it, however, is scutching against her leg and not a scutching board. Scutching can be done on a rock, off a log, off the kitchen table, etc. Scutching boards do show up in art at the end of the 14^th century and beginning of the 15^th century.

            The scutching board I imitated the most is from the Da Costa Hours dating to 1515 in Belgium. The image, which has been mentioned earlier, shows a woman scutching in the background against a scutching board that is roughly shaped like mine.

Figure 11 Cropped image of flax production (MS, 2018)

Materials:

• White wood or pine board, roughly 12” wide by 3’ long and 1” thick (scrap from a different project)
• 18” x 2’, nicer looking plywood ¾” thick (scrap from a previous house project)
• 1x3” of varying lengths, scrap from brake and other projects
• 1x4”
• 1 ¼” wood screws
• Circular saw, jigsaw, orbital sander
• Sandpaper of varying grits

Process

            My goal was something I could take apart for easy transport; I could not find any DIYs in my price range of free. I looked at a bunch of pictures, both in period and modern, and decided to make something that could slide into the base. I have a bunch of spare plywood in the garage from various projects and decided to use the nicer of these pieces as the base. The upright part of the scutching board ended up being another leftover piece of white wood or pine from a different project, and it had a slightly thinner width than the base.

The Steps

1. I cut the base to a length of 24”. This is enough that I can put my foot on the base to hold it, or let it stand on its own.
2. The upright was already cut in a weird way, so I trimmed off pieces to straighten it out with the jigsaw. There is a curved part to the top that I tidied up with the intention of hanging the knife from. There are two levels to the upright, one best for standing and the other good for sitting. The board was already cut like this and I decided to work with it.
3. Using the circular saw, I cut a length of 1x3 that is the same length as the bottom of the upright. I then screwed this piece to the bottom of the upright, making sure it was centered.
4. Cut two pieces the width of the bottom board. I centered a 1x3 (to represent the upright) and aligned the pieces I had just cut against either side of the 1x3. I made sure the center 1x3 could move freely and then screwed down the other 1x3s.
5. I cut two pieces of 1x4 the width of the baseboard. These were screwed down on top of the top 1x3’s so that they met the edge of the upright.
6. The upright was a bit tight going in, so I sanded down the base of the 1x3 and the sides, allowing for smoother entry.

Figure 12 The finished scutching board.

Using It All

            With the flax brake complete, the nettle can be broken. This was my first attempt at using one, so I experiment with a bundle, a smaller bundle, and only one stalk. The singular stalk broke completely; it is necessary to have a bundle so that they cushion each other. On its own, the stalk will break. While this is technically the point of the flax brake, the intention is not to completely break the nettle apart. The goal is to just get the inner pitch to loosen from the outside bark. With some fussing about, I determined that a smaller sized bundle of about five to ten stalks was best (see figure 13).

            Holding the stalks, put the end furthest from your hand between the brake. Lift up and with some force, but not a lot, bring the lever down upon the nettle. Lift the lever, twist the nettle, and then bring the brake down upon it again. Repeat this, moving the nettle closer to your hand or further away as needed to break up the pith. Be careful not to come down too hard with the lever and break the plant completely.

Figure 13 The flax brake in use!

            This took a good amount of time for the bundle of nettle that I had. This is possibly because the retting process was not correct, the rails of the flax brake are not spaced correctly, or I need more practice. On a warmer day, I will go out to finish the bundle, but as it was, my neighbors did not seem happy about the noise, and I stopped using the flax brake once I felt that I got a decent handful for the scutching board.
            I moved over to my scutching board and placed the end of the now broken bundle of nettle over the edge. With the scutching knife in my right hand, I brought it down upon the nettle, letting the knife hit against the bark of the nettle and the board with a downward motion. The goal here was to remove more of the woody bits that do not make up the fiber. Figure 14 shows the nettle being worked. I found with this that there that seems like waste, which is possibly due to the retting or my needing to learn better how to use this equipment.

Figure 14 Nettle being worked on the scutching board.

            Once the bark was removed, I took what surprisingly little nettle I had left and sat on the porch. Typically, at this stage, one would start running the nettle through a series of heckles. You would start with the coarse heckle and work your way to a fine heckle. Heckles look like small boards with nails inserted in with varying distances between the nails to represent coarse, medium, fine, etc. Some are placed on a long board with a hole allowing for a foot to hold the base of the board in place. Others can be mounted on tables. König mentions a heckling comb that was found in good condition in a castle in Germany that was destroyed in 1382 (König, 2020). They appear in various arts in period, including an illumination from France (figure 15 below).

Figure 15 Woman heckling flax, cropped image (Gaia, n.d.).

In fact, of all the tools for fiber production, heckling combs are the easiest to locate newly made. König mentions that the heckling comb found in that German castle appears similar to the 19^th century one that they have in their possession, meaning that the technology for heckling flax by hand has not changed. I will not go into any amount of detail on making a heckling board, because that is not a project that I have attempted (yet). I am still debating purchasing versus making my own although purchasing a set would be costly. The Woolery has combs for sale on their website, but at a greater cost than I am willing to spend (Combs, n.d.).

Figure 16 The three results after scutching.

Figure 16 shows three piles of what results from using the scutching board. Pile 1 shows the leftover bits of bark and pieces that I will be unable to use for fiber. The tow in pile 2 can be utilized for starting fires, although I am tempted to experiment with carders to see if I can get a usable fiber from it. Pile 3 is the usable fiber that would go through the heckling board if I had one.
            A YouTube video created by WoodlandsTV and posted in 2017 shows a fellow processing both flax and nettle. To finish the nettle, instead of running it through a heckle, he uses the dull side of a knife to scrape the fibers down (WoodlandsTV, 2017). It is this method that I imitated using a 6” drywall taping knife because that is what I had on hand. As mentioned in the video, using the knife creates a lot of waste, although this fiber can be used as tow to start fires. The result from using a flat edge to scrape the nettle gets me a small handful of nettle fiber, the near final result from processing nettle I picked almost a year ago.

Figure 17 Totes worth it.

Conclusion

            This project has been a lot of work with little payout, but I still feel like it was worth it. I keep blaming my issues with the nettle not being retted correctly, but I am not entirely positive that this is correct. I have learned a lot from the start of harvesting, to retting, to retting again, creating the tools, and processing the fiber. There is still a long way to go to having a finished product; this fiber will need to be spun, dyed, and woven into fabric.

Lessons Learned

• I need to have both more patience and diligence when retting.
• The next time, I would split the stem while the nettle is fresh prior to retting. It seems like it would make processing easier.
• More research needs to be completed for all aspects of this project, and I would like to rely less on the nettle Facebook group and modern pages for help.
• Long sleeve shirts will be necessary; within five minutes of using the flax brake on the nettle my right arm (the one controlling the lever) turned red and itchy.
• Processing nettle is a laborious task that takes a while; I need to work on my patience with this, as well.
• Success is a delight. While the small pile I have created is a pittance in the scheme of things, I am wildly happy to see a result after so long. This means I am on the right track.

The Next Steps

• Create, purchase, or find heckling combs to continue the processing.
• Learn how to drop-spin or trick someone into spinning the nettle for me.
• Experiment with dyeing the nettle, possibly alongside flax to experiment with the different ways the fibers take up the dye.
• Decide if I want to go the full distance and make a warp-weighted loom on my own or purchase (if room allows) a loom.
• Find a solid source of nettle for future processing. Either sown by me or located in the wild.

References

Adhikari, B. M., Bajracharya, A., & Shrestha, A. K. (2015, August 7). Comparison of nutritional properties of stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) flour with wheat and barley flours. Food science & nutrition. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4708629/

Ähman , T. (2022, October 13). Carving a scutching knife (Growing 1 m2 of FLAX part 3). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0pKovl4Omc

Amiens, BM, lescalopier 22. Initiale Catalogue de manuscrits enluminés. (n.d.). https://initiale.irht.cnrs.fr/codex/6053

Bergfjord, C., Mannering, U., Frei, K. M., Gleba, M., Scharff, A. B., Skals, I., Heinemeier, J., Nosch, M.-L., & Holst, B. (2012, September 28). Nettle as a distinct Bronze Age textile plant. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/srep00664

Book of hours, MS M.1175. Fol. 014r. The Morgan Library & Museum. (n.d.). https://ica.themorgan.org/manuscript/page/27/308001

Combs & hackles. Largest Selection Combs and Hackles | The Woolery. (n.d.). https://woolery.com/fiber-tools/combs-hackles.html

Cotswold Archaeology. (2024, August 23). Scutching knife. Cotswold Archaeology Virtual Museum. https://cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/museum/scutching-knife/

Gaia Caecilia from BL Royal 16 G V, F. 56. PICRYL. (n.d.). https://picryl.com/media/gaia-caecilia-from-bl-royal-16-g-v-f-56-ab0ef4

Hirst, K. K. (2019, May 20). Ancient ways to beat, Scutch, and heckle flax to produce linen textile. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/making-linen-history-neolithic-flax-processing-171347

Know your fibre - nettle. YAK. (2020, July 24). https://yarnandknitting.com/know-your-fibre-nettle

König, M. (2020, May 25). Flax fibre extraction techniques in the late Middle Ages. EXARC Journal. https://exarc.net/issue-2020-2/at/flax-fibre-extraction-techniques-late-middle-ages

MS m.399, fol. 12V. The Morgan Library & Museum. (2018, April 7). https://www.themorgan.org/collection/da-costa-hours/24

Nigon Wyrta Galdor: “The nine herbs charm.” Mimisbrunnr.info: Developments in Ancient Germanic Studies. (n.d.). https://www.mimisbrunnr.info/nigon-wyrta-galdor

O’Brien Beaumont, P. (2021, May 28). Building a flax brake. Spindles In the Wild. https://spindlesinthewild.com/portfolio/building-a-flax-brake/

Stinging nettle. Stinging Nettle - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation. (n.d.). https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/105371.html

WebMD. (n.d.). Nettle leaf: Health benefits, nutrition, preparation information, and more. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-nettle-leaf

WoodlandsTV. (2017, June 20). Working with Flax and Nettles. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0SFRIZqkfE

Class Notes: Beginning Knitting - A Washcloth (aka the "Bera" Necessities)

Introduction

No, I will not apologize for the pun.

    The following is what I print out for my class. It is intended as an overview, much like a PowerPoint presentation, where the majority is explained through the duration of the class. I chose a washcloth because it is a quick project, can be finished in one day (usually), and is a very useful item. When I first started knitting, I found it boring to make a scarf. Doing the same stitch for what seems like years is discouraging whereas washcloths are near-instant gratification. Happy with the knit stitch? Great, move on to practicing the purl stitch, yarn overs, or any other variation of stitches that creates knitting. Keep making washcloths until you're comfortable and then move on to other things.
    The handout does not mention the history behind knitting, but this is because the class is intended to teach the skill. I will discuss a bit of what I have learned during class, but I do not focus on the historic aspects of the craft because I want the focus to be on the class gaining the skills and confidence to learn more on their own. 

Needles

*Knitting requires at least two needles
*Various lengths and thicknesses (US vs Metric)
*If the project calls for it, more needles are used
*Materials of the needles differ and chosen based on preference or skill

Yarn

*Comes in different “weights” (aka thicknesses)
*Examples; wool, flax, silk, bamboo, milk, possum
*Chosen based on project or preferences

 Knitting types

*English vs Continental (class is taught using the English method)
*There are others, but these are the two common ones
*Also based on preference or experience
 *If one way isn't working, trying another!

 Casting on

    Casting on is the method of creating the first stitch in your project and does count as a stitch (stitch one). From there, we will use the backwards loop (basically half hitches) to cast on the number of required stitches. To start with, we will just use a slip knot as the first stitch.

Patterns

• Most patterns use standardized language
• Most patterns usually provide a glossary, but terms can also be found online
• Right side vs. wrong side; right side is the side intended to be seen, wrong side is against skin
• Knits and purls make up most stitches

 Straight needles (back and forth on two needles)

• Stitches start on left needle, work them onto right needle. When finished, the right needle is  switched to the left hand, turning the work
• Using knit stitches only creates “garter stitch”
• A knit row followed by a purl row creates “stockinette stitch”

Knitting in the round (DPN's or circular needles)

• Project is circular such as socks or a hat, and is worked continuously until it reaches the desired length
• Using knit stitches only creates stockinette stitch
• A knit row followed by a purl row creates garter stitch

 To knit (verbal instruction)

    Insert the right needle tip into the left side of the first stitch on your left needle. Bring yarn around the back left of the working needle, up, and to the right. Keeping yarn somewhat taut on the right needle tip, bring the working end of the yarn through the loop, pushing up slightly on the working needle to keep the yarn tight. Slide this first stitch off the left needle. One stitch has been knitted! Now repeat.
    When your first row is done bring your working needle into your left hand. It is now the resting needle and the empty one in your right hand is your working needle. A good recommendation is to count your stitches on your needles every row or every other row until you get comfortable with the pattern. Keep going until you've made a square, like how long your project is, or can't be arsed to keep going.

 Casting Off

    To cast off, knit two stitches as normal. Then, on your right needle, lift the stitch closest to your right hand (the first stitch you knitted) over the second stitch and let it drop. You will have one stitch on your right needle and 43 on your left. Knit another stitch from the left needle; you will have 2 on your right needle and 42 on your left. Pass the stitch closest to your hand over the stitch you just made. Keep doing this until you have cast off all stitches and one stitch remains. Cut yarn about six inches or so and bring the end through the last stitch, pulling tight. Sew in the tail end of your yarn.

Pattern:

Cast on (CO) 20 stitches
Rows 1-4: Knit (K) all stitches
Row 5: K2, purl to last 2 stitches, K2
Row 6: Knit all stitches
Repeat rows 5 and 6 until desired length.
Knit 4 rows
Cast off all 20 stitches

A&S Project 2019 - Brimless Hat

Dyeing and Knitting a Brimless Flat Cap

(Also Known As The Mystery of the Accidental Purple Or Correcting Color After Color And Learning to Live With Disappointment)

The finished hat as worn by François, my totally sane mannequin head.

Introduction

    The Sumptuary laws were passed in 1571 to generate more profit for the domestic wool trade in England. Wool caps were mandatory for men and young boys not in the higher classes to wear on Sundays and during holidays, helping to cement the brimmed cap as an English hallmark. However, brimmed caps are not the only examples of hats made and worn during the 16th century.

Fig. 1: Underside view of the brimless cap found in the Museum of London's Collection

    There is a brimless cap that is part of the Museum of London's collection. Details such as where and when it was found are unknown although it is known that the hat was made in the 16th century. The hat is very reminiscent of what is considered a beret today.

    The overall goal of this project was to start out dyeing yarn with locally sourced dyestuff and then create, without a pattern, a rough replica of the hat found in the Museum of London. Roughly, this project was a success. Locally sourced dyestuff was used at first and a hat was knitted up, fulled, and napped. The finished product looks like the hat found in the Museum of London, albeit a different color. However, there were a couple of changes and a bunch of mistakes made.

    As the goal of this project was mainly an experiment in the author's abilities, it was decided to conserve yarn by not knitting the hat double (as can be seen in figure 1 if you were to look closely at the edge). Another run of mistakes made was in the dyeing of the yarn, however the finished result is satisfactory.

Overall Dye Conclusion (tl;dr)

    An attempt was made to use locally foraged materials. The author grows woad in their garden and collected oak galls while on hikes. When the woad dye attempt failed, the author turned to the pages of Wild Color by Jenny Dean to search for an achievable color using materials they had close at hand. It required a run to Port Fiber in Portland, ME to purchase the iron powder, as the author had not at the time been soaking iron or copper to use as a mordant. When this dye attempt did not produce the desired results the author made another trip to Port Fiber choosing to use a store-bought natural dye; madder powder made by Botanical Colors.

    Overall, while the finished color was a surprise, it was not a complete surprise. With the yarn previously having been dyed, or more accurately just “mordant-ed” with the oak galls and iron, it may have “saddened” the fiber enough to achieve purple. It is also possible that the first attempt at dyeing with woad made a reemergence when the madder was added. A third possibility is that when the berry flavored Tums were used to “deepen” the colors, the coloring in the Tums could have changed the yarn color.

Materials Used

• Worsted weight KnitPicks Bare (two skeins, 440 yards, 200 grams)

• Woad leaves (163 grams fresh and slightly damp)

• Washing soda (2 ½ tablespoons)

• Sodium hydrosulphite (author used metabisulphite from previous brewing experiments) (1 ½

teaspoons)

• Oak galls picked over the course of a summer (37 grams)

• Iron powder, purchase from Port Fiber (2 tablespoons)

• Vinegar (1 cup)

• Madder, purchased from Port Fiber (2 teaspoons)

• Tums (10 tablets, ground)

Woad Dye Attempt

Fig. 2: Woad, prior to being decimated at the hands of an overeager dyer.

1. Soaked both skeins of Cascade 220 (undyed, probably bleached) in warm water for over two hours.

2. Prepare woad leaves by tearing or cutting into small pieces.

3. Boil water and add woad leaves to pot. Pour boiled water over the leaves and let steep for at least an hour.

Fig. 3: Whisking. The author cheated by using a whisk attachment on their immersion blender. A++ would recommend.

4. Strain leaves, retaining liquid, making sure to squeeze the leaves to get the water out.

5. Add washing soda and whisk until your hands go numb and the froth changes color (see figure 3).

6. Return the liquid to heat and simmer at 50 degrees Celsius, adding the sodium metabisulphite

7. Add yarn, gently, making sure to not add air. Remove all from heat and let sit for about two hours.

8. Remove from vat and expose yarn to air to achieve woad blue.

Fig. 4:  Results; not blue.

Result

    FAILURE. Total and utter failure of achieving any sort of blue (see figure 4). The color result was a very faded, pale green that was barely noticeable. Color was likely due to the age of the woad plant (about two years old), the earliness of picking the woad (April instead of July), and possibly not correctly following the woad dyeing process outlined in Wild Color. There is also the possibility that the sodium metabisulphite was the incorrect reducing agent to use in this dye process as Wild Color suggests the use of sodium hydrosulfite.

Oak Gall and Iron Dye Attempt

1. Soak fiber; this attempt used the two previously dyed skeins of Cascade 220 (440 yards).

2. Crush and soak oak galls in 8 liters of water for about an hour.

3. Simmer oak galls for about an hour.

4. Strain oak galls, retaining liquid. Set aside oak galls to dry; there is a possibility that they can be reused as a mordant but the author has not tried this yet.

5. Add 2 tablespoons of iron powder to the retained liquid, turning heat off.

6. Add fiber and let soak away from heat.

7. After two hours, fiber was checked for color fastness. The color began to run, so a cup of vinegar was added to the vat and the yarn allowed to sit overnight, before removing and hanging to dry.

Result

    FAILURE. The goal with the oak gall and iron powder was to achieve a dark gray or black color. The results of this dye bath were close; one skein turned a silver-gray that was desirable and the other skein remained a disappointing brown, similar to what one could achieve with oak galls only. Overall, not a complete disappointment. See figure 5.

    At this point it was decided to use the yarn as is to knit the hat, with the intention of over-dyeing the hat after finishing the felting and fulling.

Fig. 5: Knitted swatch that has been dyed with oak gall and iron.

Madder Dye Attempt

1. Soak hat in water.

2. Make paste with madder and small amount of water.

3. Add boiling water to paste.

4. Bring dye vat of water to 32 degrees Celsius, add madder, crushed tums (or calcium carbonate),

and hat. Keep at this temperature for about thirty minutes.

5. Bring dye vat to 82 degrees Celsius for about forty minutes.

6. Remove hat from the dye vat and run under cold water until the water runs clear.

Fig. 6: Checking to see what color red the hat ended up; surprised not-red red.

Result

    Madder is typically used to achieve reds ranging from pale pink to scarlet. The results of this dye attempt was a surprise purple. Not the scarlet the author intended, but much more welcome than the previous two dye attempts. The author is not completely sure that the color was achieved through natural means, as in an attempt to save money they purchased the berry Tums to use for calcium carbonate instead of white Tums. Berry Tums had color in them, and while the amount used was fairly small, it is possible that there was a reaction in the dye bath that made the colors come forward.

    Extra: A skein of Knit Picks Bare fingering yarn was tossed into the madder dye vat after the hat was removed in an attempt to exhaust the dye bath. Two teaspoons of lemon juice were also included for “giggles” to see what would happen when an acidic substance was added. The result was a skein of light burgundy red yarn.

Knitting the Brimless Cap

    Usually one to live on the wild side of knitting by never doing gauge swatches (even that one time the author knitted a dress), the decision was made to go against nature and create a swatch. One knits a swatch by using the same needles and yarn that is intended for the finished project. Once the swatch has reached a reasonable size, a measurement is taken and the stitches and rows counted. This gives the knitter an idea of how many stitches will be needed to cast on and for how long one should knit for the project to reach a desired size. In an attempt to standardize knitting terms for the on-going research project known as KEME (Knitting in Early Modern Europe, a project that researches and attempts to recreate historic knitted hat finds), gauge is referred to by the terms “wales” and “courses”. In modern terms wales are stitches and courses are rows.

    The KEME website is a wealth of information about historic hats, most of which are brimmed or double brimmed. There is very little information there, at the time of this project, on brimless caps. For the sake of simplicity the author made the decision to use the average gauge found in the KEME research of 6 wales and 9 courses per inch. A swatch was made in the style of the KEME research, one that is knitted in the round on size 5 needles, increasing by eight stitches every other row until the swatch measures five inches in diameter. Luckily, the first swatch the author created matched the average historic gauge, so it was decided to move on to developing a plan for the pattern.

Fig. 7: Finished swatch that has made gauge.

    With the goal of making a hat for a male with a rather large head, the author headed for a calculator and a pile of math. The head circumference goal was 24 inches. The estimated shrinkage of the finished hat after fulling and napping was about 15%. Multiplying the cast-on circumference by fifteen percent gave the author 3.6 inches to add to the total knitting, with a goal of 27.6 inches in diameter. Since the gauge was six stitches for every inch, the author multiplied the total desired width (27.6) by six, getting a total of 165.6 stitches needed to cast on.

    This is an impossible number for knitting as one cannot cast-on half a stitch. As the plan was to increase the hat by eight stitches every other row and eventually decrease by eight stitches later on, the author had to find a cast-on number that was dividable by 8. Since one can make a hat smaller but never bigger, the decision was made to cast on 168 stitches.

Fig. 8: There's an awful lot of stockinette stitch in this project. Expect to get bored quickly if attempting on your own.

    With the math figured out, the author went ahead and began knitting (see figure 8). As the finished hat would not be knit double, the author decided to knit the edge of the hat for one inch allowing for some space later on to turn the edge inwards and sew to the hat. The goal here was to have a space to thread a ribbon to allow the hat to sit more securely on the head of the wearer. The Museum of London hat had slits in the brim that a ribbon had been threaded through.

    Once the hat was completed, the author took to fulling and napping the hat. This required a surface to work on, a bowl of warm, soapy water, and a mallet. Again, the KEME research came in handy, as the author followed their directions for fulling and napping a finished swatch. Almost as tedious as the continuous stockinette stitch, the process for fulling the hat took over an hour. Soak the hat in the soapy water and agitate it by rubbing the hat against itself. Take the hat out of the water, working it on your surface like you are kneading dough. Then beat the hat with the mallet, making sure to fold and move it in between the beats. When the material has thickened and stitches can no longer be seen, move on to napping the hat.

    KEME suggests napping the hat while still damp. The author napped the hat while damp and also when dry, as the initial napping did not produce the desired results. The brush used was a store-bought plastic “boar bristled” brush. To nap, the author flicked the brush in short upward motions against the fabric of the hat. This is another part of the process that took over an hour to achieve any sort of desired result, thankfully a task easily done during a long car trip or while watching television.

Result

    There is still some stretch to the material and could probably stand to be fulled some more. Most importantly, though, the finished hat is not only wearable, but looks like the hat found in the Museum of London.

Works Cited

“Brimless Cap.” Museum of London, Museum of London, 27 Mar. 2019, collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/90553.html.

Dean, Jenny. Wild Color the Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes. Watson-Guptill, 2010.

“Keme Research.” Keme Research, Centre for Textile Research, kemeresearch.com/participate.

Secara, Maggie. “Elizabethan Sumptuary Statutes.” Elizabethan Sumptuary Statutes, 14 July 2001, elizabethan.org/sumptuary/.

Glossary

Courses: The count of rows per inch when creating a swatch.

Fulling: The process of felting a fabric that makes it denser.

Gauge: Knitting measurement usually in terms of stitches per inch or rows per inch. In modern patterns, a gauge is given so that the the knitter can match the pattern creator's gauge, so that one doesn't end up with a sweater for a horse. KEME Research uses wales in place of stitches and courses instead of rows to generalize knitting terms.

Madder: A plant that produces anywhere from yellow to red dye colors.

Mordant: Substance that is used to help affix the dye permanently to the fiber being dyed, usually a metallic compound like iron or copper or a plant based substance like tannin.

Napping: Raising the fiber on a fabric to give it an appearance similar to the fabric of a teddy-bear or velvet. Usually trimmed close.

Oak Gall: A reaction an oak leaf has when a wasp lays an egg on the leaf. The tree reacts by growing plant matter around the egg, producing a round hollow shell. Oak galls are a great source of tannin and can be used in ink making as well as dyeing.

Reducing Agent: Used to reduce oxygen in a woad dye vat. The agent usually contains sodium hydrosulphite which can be found in RIT color remover. The author used sodium metabisulphite which is used in brewing to stabilize cider and beer and is not the correct substance to use as a reducing agent. This is likely a reason why the woad did not take. The author intends to use the urine method to dye with woad next time, although is a little sketched out about keeping buckets of urine sitting around.

Swatch: A sample of knitting created in order to measure out gauge.

Wales: The count of stitches per inch when creating a swatch.