# I have always want to do this with Flax



## bergere (May 11, 2002)

http://www.ecouterre.com/a-london-community-grows-flax-to-turn-into-clothing/


http://www.vavstuga.com/classes/desc-linens-weave.shtml


----------



## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I want to do it with nettles.
Very, very much.

Maybe next year.
(she said once again)


----------



## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

My old sheep area is full of nettles, kinda of ironic.


----------



## Osiris (Jun 9, 2010)

7th.....you can't do that with sheep! ;-)


----------



## bergere (May 11, 2002)

With nettles, Chickenista?


----------



## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

bergere said:


> With nettles, Chickenista?


Yes, you can. I realize you cannot see my avatar very well. The girl in the image is spinning nettles to make her 11 Brothers -sweaters. The evil witch/stepmother turned her Brothers into Swans and she has only so much time or her brothers will remain swans. The Farie tale is called The Wild Swans, very Beautiful artwork. I have a special book given to me when I was 10, all of the storys have illstrations done by the same artist-thought you would be interested.


----------



## Osiris (Jun 9, 2010)

I do know stinging nettle is a very fiberous plant much like flax. I've never done it but I know it's possible. It's also a very healthy plant - in the spring. The young plants boiled are a good source of vitamins much like spinach. The 'sting' is removed in the boiling.


----------



## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Osiris said:


> I do know stinging nettle is a very fiberous plant much like flax. I've never done it but I know it's possible. It's also a very healthy plant - in the spring. The young plants boiled are a good source of vitamins much like spinach. The 'sting' is removed in the boiling.


Yes, I use it quite abit, esp. as a Tea.


----------



## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

Nettles in past times produced fiber which was made into cloth as soft as silk which was done commercially, sheets and cloth for clothing, paper and all the edibles uses in addition to salves, oils, perfume base, hair tonic and tea herbal remedies. I do think you would find the process similar to garner the fibers in the stalks for spinning as what they did with the flax...I have also considered trying it when I get back to Washington. The tall Nettles there would be ideal to try it with. Flax only needs 90 days and Nettles take even less time out there in WA to grow full height up to 10 feet...Amazing, right?

I think the urban flax project was wonderful! Thanks for that awesome pic!


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

7thswan we had that book when I was a child. It was my older sisters book. I would spend hours just looking at the beautiful pictures.

Nettles as a tea are excellent for allergies too.


----------



## bergere (May 11, 2002)

I had no idea Nettles could be used like Flax.
Does anyone have photos of the process?

(granted, if I tried, I most likely would hurt myself some how)


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

http://youtu.be/361YVBkFylo


----------



## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

Marchwind said:


> http://youtu.be/361YVBkFylo


I loved the detailed demonstration! Thanks for posting this!

I saw an article online of a college student who made cloth into a cute shirt using the Nettle fiber she had processed much the same way. After it was carded, the article did not specify how it was spun into the thread. It was very fine what they made the shirt with so either a spindle or spinning wheel must have been utilized. It was said to be made all by hand as well. I will try to find that to post. It was pretty what this young lady made!


----------



## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

And if you want 'fiber' nettles, you grow them a bit differently.
They need more sun to get taller.

For 'food' nettles, you want them in moist shade.
They stay shorter with thicker leaves.

And I love nettles.
And the sting goes away once they are picked.
You can eat them raw.
I rinse them and put them in a bag in the fridge.
Then put them on sandwiches, on home made pizza etc..

I like the tea, I LOVE the soup.
I add them into a lot of dishes a lot of the time.
Incredibly, incredibly healthful food.
And in the spring, they are among the first things up.
They stop seasonal allergies.
Isn't nature cool?!

Oh.. but retting them would be... interesting.
They stink to high heaven as they begin to rot.
I mean really awful.


----------



## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

I hear they are one of the top 10 in nature to use.


----------



## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

From a lot of experience with Nettles, I can tell you about retting from my composting in water for compost tea. I didn't try to spin the fiber yet but have rotted them for compost among every use mentioned above. Nettle infused oil is excellent for those little burns in the kitchen also and any respiratory concern like allergies, asthma and colds/flu. As to the retting, it says to change the water and I would recommend this every day. If you don't it will smell just like manure. When I rot nettles for compost tea, it smells like manure in about 3 days. So daily changing of the water is very important and I would think you would change the water with the flax as well. Washington Great Nettles grow tallest in a little shade but not full sun. The full sun Nettles die off faster and bend over, dying out producing the Nettle seeds I harvest for a commercial website in bulk. The ones with a little shade have that edge of protection and don't dry out prior to full growth, thereby producing their seeds last. The weather and humidity have a lot to do with it on height. The ones on the edges of the fields where I gather seeds have to be bent over to harvest. The tallest will produce the longest fibers...sounds like a time consuming but fun fiber experience. In comparison Flax grows to a meter tall or 3 feet plus about 11 inches. 

They are about to launch an entire line of clothing made from Nettles, article here:

http://www.swicofil.com/products/016nettle.html This is a picture from that article, hard to believe they can make the fiber just like thread. 









Now back to the Flax clothing...

Look at this site for a complete clothing line...looks just like regular cloth!

http://www.flaxdesigns.com/tees15.php


----------



## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Milkweed is processed much the same way.

JDog is planting flax this year and plans on processing it for fiber ... and i get to help!! :happy2:


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

MLF that will be fun. We have someone coming to our guild to talk about the whole process. They are usually at the MFF every year demonstrating.

Make sure you document everything.


----------



## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Well, now you&#8217;ve done it. I put flax growing on the knitting guild agenda. If Londoners can do it, we can do it. Some of us spin, and some of the spinners weave.


----------

