How to Make Baskets out of Stinging Nettles

Nettle twine is a sturdy basket fiber.

Nettle (urtica dioica) fibers are very strong and used traditionally for fishing lines, nets, cloth, paper and rope. Harvested in late summer or fall, the plant is not damaged as it reproduces from underground rhizomes. Twine can be twisted from these fibers and woven into many varieties of baskets. Any convex smooth bowl will suffice as a basket form. By weaving the nettle twine over the bottom of the bowl, a shallow basket will be formed.

Things You'll Need

• nettle
• knife

Instructions

Twine

1. Remove the outer fibrous layer from the inner pith of the nettle stalks.

2. Run these outer fibers back and forth across the back of a wooden chair to soften them and make them pliable.

3. Take a strand and hold it in the middle. Twist the two pieces that are hanging down clockwise until they have formed a tight spiral.

4. Bring the forward strand backward, or counterclockwise, over the other piece. This will make two ply twine.

5. Continue in this manner, adding new pieces by overlapping the new nettle fibers with the old five inches before getting to the end of the strands. This will incorporate the strands into a uniform twine.

6. Make 40 lengths of twine, each 3 feet long.

Basket

1. Find a bowl with a smooth bottom that is 6-8 inches in diameter.

2. Turn it upside down on the work surface.

3. Lay seven strands of nettle twine across it in a radiating spoke type pattern. These will become the ribs of the basket.

4. Hold this radiating design in place with one hand while you begin to weave a new piece over and under each spoke/rib, starting at the middle. When you get to where you started add one more half length of twine for the extra rib needed to continue with this simple weaving pattern. You always need an odd number of ribs to allow you to do this type of weaving.

5. Continue weaving over and under, adding new pieces of twine by overlapping 4 inches before the previous one runs out. Push each new row close to the preceding one so that the weave becomes tight and snug on the bottom of the bowl.

6. Add more spokes between the original ones as it turns to go up the sides of the form. It will take a few rows of weaving to secure the added ribs. More ribs will make a tighter basket.

7. Proceed weaving over and under up the sides of the bowl until the basket is the desired size.

8. Finish the edges by weaving the original spokes back into the basket form

9. Trim any errant ends with a knife.

References

• Stinging Nettle: Urtica dioica L.
• "Primitive Wilderness Living and Survival Skills: Naked Into the Wilderness"; John McPherson, Geri McPherson; 1993
• "The Earth's Blanket: Traditional Teaching for Sustainable Living"; Nancy J. Turner; 2005