Cordage Fibers from Woody Stalks: Processing Dogbane

(As featured in the January 2010 issue of Practically Seeking)

Dogbane!

Dobgane is perhaps my favorite natural plant fiber. It grows tall and is available in abundance in the northeast and most other parts of North America, is easy to extract the fibers from, and makes exceptionally strong cordage!
The method for processing out the fibers that I prefer is one used by the Paiute, and also works well with many plants that have woody stalks, such as Stinging Nettle, Milkweed, Velvet Leaf and more.

Cordage fibers can be extracted by many other traditional methods, but I prefer this one due to the ease of storing the fibers for later use in a way that they remain tangle free! 

And anyone who has spent too much time trying to extract their fiber strands from a giant gnarled mess will appreciate just how great this method is.

And hey, what else are ya going to do to pass the evenings when it gets dark so early in the winter?

Step-by-step Instructions on How to Process Dogbane:

  1. Harvest the stalks by cutting them off about an inch above the ground. (Do NOT pull the whole plant out, as dogbane regrows from it's existing root stalk.) Look for plants that are a deep red color and avoid those that have turned gray. I wait to begin harvesting until the plant has gone to seed. If the seed pods have formed but not yet opened, I prefer to help spread the seeds from any harvested stalks to help propogate the species before leaving the area.

    2. Dogbane Patch New stalk beside old stalk Leave seeds behind

  2. Store your stalks in bundles in a dry place until you are ready to begin processing.

    3. Store in a dry place

  3. With a stone flake, shell or steel knife, start about three fingers up from the base of the stalk and LIGHTLY scrape off the outer bark. This outer bark is a very thin layer of dark red. You should see a slight color change as the darker outer bark flakes off. When you see the very fine fibers begin to raise up, STOP! Those are your cordage fibers and you want to keep as many of them intact as possible!

    4. Scrape down stalk Outter bark removed Raised Fibers

  4. Work a small area at a time — just a few inches — and be very thorough. Scrape away as much of the outer bark as possible without disturbing the fibers underneath. Pay very close attention to what you are doing and do not allow your mind to wander.

    5. Remove all outer bark

  5. Continue scraping a few inches at a time until the entire stalk is clean, except about the bottom three inches.

    6. Clean off whole stalk Leave bottom of stalk untouched

  6. Beginning at the far tip, (what was the top of the plant) press the stalk between your fingers until it crushes in half. The stalk is hollow, and will crush down with only a little bit of effort. Continue this process all the way down the stalk until you are within 3 fingers of the base. Usually this results in the stalk being broken into quarters, but if it only breaks in halves, return to the top of the stalk, rotate it one quarter turn and crush your way down the stalk again. Remember to stop before you get to the bottom! Your intent is to have an unbroken section at the base of the stalk.

    7. Crush stalk in two Break down full length Leave bottom unbroken

  7. Arrange the stalk so the inside section of all four quarters face up, with the inner bark showing. Starting at the top of the plant once again, move down one of the quarters an inch or two, snap the inner bark and carefully peel it away from the fibers. Repeat this process all the way down the stalk, until you reach the unbroken section, then return to the top. Repeat this process for each quarter. Be careful and meticulous with this process or you can pull the fibers completely off.

    8. Have the inner bark showing Snap and pull back inner bark Remove all the inner bark

  8. Once all of the inner bark has been removed from all four quarters (except for those last few inches) you will be left with long and silky dogbane fibers that want to curl. Buff small sections of the fibers between your fingers briefly, carefully working your way down the stalk. This buffing process will separate the fibers just a bit, and help to remove any stubborn bits of outer bark that may remain.

    9. Fibers want to curl up.Lightly buff the fibers

  9. Twist the fibers into a loose spiral, then wrap the spiral around the unbroken portion of the stalk that you left at the bottom. Continue wrapping until an inch or two of fibers remain unwrapped.

    10. Twist the fibers loosely.Wrap fibers around stalk Leave small fiber tail

  10. Tuck this "tail" section down into one of the groves that remain from where you originally split the stalk. You can now toss your "bobbin" of dogbane aside in a basket or bowl until needed.

    11. Tuck the tail into a split Pull tail down tight Finished Dogbane bobbin

     

When you are ready to begin your next cordage project your dogbane fibers will be ready and waiting to be unwrapped and spun up — no untangling required!

Until next time, Be Well and Have Fun!