"Clothing and homewares made from nettles is not a new idea; for the past 2,000 years people have worn fabrics made from these stinging plants. But nettles lost their popularity when cotton arrived in the 16th century, because cotton was easier to harvest and spin. 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. Now, new advances in spinning technologies and cross-breeding to produce super-high-fiber plants mean that stinging nettles are set to become the latest fashion.
However, there is still a long way to go to for nettle to be used in even the most delicate forms of fabrics like baby clothes or underwear.
The nettle is a highly successful plant found all over the temperate areas of the world. It spreads by means of seeds and underground rhizomes that creep around just under the surface of the soil.
The jagged leaves held in pairs along the square stems are easily recognizable particularly after having experienced the sting. The plant itself is variable growing from 0.6 to 2 meters plus in height and can be found in a variety of habitats and soil types. It prefers rich soils and therefore does well around human settlements benefiting from the waste we produce - often indicating where old settlements have long since disappeared from the countryside."
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STSC work directly with the amazing representative of this group of artisans from the Himalayas where she is also from. Priyanka sources directly from and works closely with the community who harvest and hand weave these special textiles. This is a true #wealthfromwaste initiative that supports the entire community and continues to draw attention to these beautiful textiles.
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Nettle or bicchu buti grows wild as undergrowth particularly in Almora and Chamoli districts in Uttarakhand a state in northern part of India. The stem fibers are pliable and used to weave knit fabric. It was lying unexplored until 7-8 years back, when on realizing its potential in the field of textiles, many organizations in the region initiated research and development activities on the possibilities of handloom based product development in nettle.
A number of researches have been conducted not only in developing commercial textiles using nettle, but also in the cultivation and propagation of the crop in the most sustainable manner.
Significant development has been made in the processes of cultivation and fibre extraction by many renowned European organizations, institutes and companies. Himalayan Nettle is a grass species, the plant is found in the upper reaches of Himalayas, the plant can attain a height of up to 12 to 18 feet in height. Different pockets of Uttarakhand have traditionally used the plant fiber for making domestic products like ropes and other rope based products such as slippers used locally called Chappel, Ghana, Natesh, Jotan. Over the years the raw material for these products has been replaced by plastic. Nettle fiber was widely used for thousands of years as a source of fiber for bowstrings, fishing nets and lines, snares, and cordage. It is an annual/perennial plant and grows to 3 meter.
Nettle fiber has remarkable high tensile strength, fineness, low specific weight and an average length of 3m; this allows production of fine fabrics. Although the plants produce good fiber, commercial extraction for high quality fiber has not yet been achieved. Various parts of the nettle plant can be used as food, fodder and as raw material for different purposes in cosmetics, medicine, industry and biodynamic agriculture.
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