Clothes made from Nettle plants!
Ouch! you may be thinking but the nettle has been used to produce a fine fiber that can be spun and woven into cloth.
Use of nettle fibers to produce clothes is not a new idea. People have been using nettle fibers to make fabrics for around two thousand years, with the earliest records being from the Bronze Age in Voldtofte, Denmark. But the popularity of nettle fibers declined from the 16th century as the cotton industry started to grow. The main reason was cotton was easier to harvest and spin. Until the 17th century, nettle fibers were used in Poland which was later replaced by silk and until the 19th century nettle fibers were used in Scotland, where it was known as Scotch Cloth. Nettles made a brief comeback during the First World War, when Germany suffered a shortage of cotton and nettles were used to produce German army uniforms.
In the present time, nettle fibers have again emerged as a sustainable fiber. Nettle fibers are biodegradable and are also less resource- intensive to process than cotton.
Fibers can be extracted from three species of nettle:
- European nettle
- Ramie
- Himalayan Nettle
Commercially, European Nettle is the most difficult to grow, hence usually the Himalayan Nettle (Girardinia diversifolia) is used in nettle yarns. Himalayan Nettle can be found in Africa and several Asian countries and will grow well in fertile forest soils, growing up to 1.5 meters in height. Growing nettle requires less water and also less pesticides making them a more sustainable option when compared to cotton.
Nettle is a bast fiber as the fibers are extracted from the stem of the nettle plant. The stem is cut and the bark removed allowing the fiber to be extracted by removing all the thorn-like stinging. The extracted fibers are then carded and spun producing a very strong cord useful for string, rope or fishing nets. For yarns, these fibers are usually blended with cotton or wool.
The extracted fibres are white in colour and they are fine, long and very strong, measuring up to 50mm. The fibres are hollow, which means they provide insulation by trapping the air inside. The fabric made with nettle fibres provides warmth and is breathable too.
In 2004, Florence-based fashion house Corpo Nove introduced jeans with nettle yarn. Netl, a Dutch fashion label, collaborated with sustainable designer Rianne de Witte for a first collection that featured clothes in vibrant colors and geometric shapes that were a blend of 75 percent cotton and 25 nettle yarns.
REFERENCES:
Tales of the Apparel World 