Cordage Construction 1 (Reverse-Wrap Method)
This page details a method of cordage construction using the reverse-wrap method. It works with many common and easily identified plants, including common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), which are pictured below. It will also work with other herbaceous plants such as spreading dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum). If the stinging nettle is collected late in the season after the plants have died, you won't need to worry about the stinging hairs. Note: use your browser's back button after you view an image to return to this page.
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| common milkweed habit | common milkweed flowers | stinging nettle flowers |
Though this method of cordage construction is simple, it is also time consuming. It currently takes me about one hour per meter of cord that would be durable enough to use for tool construction (e.g., bow drill, hefting tools) after all of the material has been collected and prepared.
1. Collect and prepare the material. This involves finding the appropriate species (common milkweed was used in this example), harvesting the stems, and separating the fibers from the inner pithy material. Use a sharp blade cut the stems to avoid breaking and damaging the fibers. I like to soak the stems in water for a short period of time (a few minutes), which makes the fibers a little more flexible and less likely to break during preparation (though this is not necessary). I then flatten out the stems and use my thumb nail to split them open lengthwise. Once the stem is split open, open the stem up and flatten it out. This now allows you to separate the inner, woody material from the outer, fibrous layer. Bend the flattened out stem to crack the woody material up into short sections and carefully remove these. Don't get too greedy or you may injure the continuous fibrous strands. Removing the outer layer of the stem is easily accomplished by placing the fibers between the palms of your hand and rolling them carefully back and forth. This flakes away the outer layers and softens the fibers (making them more user friendly). Allow the fibers to dry before separating the outer layers or wrapping them into cordage.
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| common milkweed stems sticking out of the snow | harvest the stems | flatten out the stems | split the stems | open the stems | bend stem to crack inner material | separate the inner woody material from outer fibers | separated fibers ready to dry and be wrapped into cordage |
2. Construct the cord. The next step is to make lengths of cordage. Gently roll the sections of fibers on your thigh (or another flat surface) into a loose strand of fibers. Fold the strand of fibers over and hold this with your thumb and forefinger of your left hand. If you plan to splice in additional lengths of fibers, then make sure not to fold in the middle (i.e., have tails of different length as pictured). Twist the fibers to put a kink in them and them pinch and hold the kink with your thumb and forefinger of your left hand. Using your right hand, hold the right-hand strand with your thumb and forefinger and twist the fibers counter-clockwise; the tighter you twist, the stronger your cordage will be. Still using your right hand, reach around behind the fibers (counter-clockwise motion of your hand) and pinch the left hand strand between your middle finger and the back of your forefinger. Then twist your right hand in a clockwise fashion, which twists the bundle of fibers so that the left-hand strand becomes the right-hand strand (it also twists the left-hand section of fibers in a clockwise rotation). At this point, the former left-hand strand is now the right-hand strand. Repeat the steps above, using the thumb and forefinger of your right hand to twist the right-hand fibers counter-clockwise (and so on). As you continue to put counter-clockwise and clockwise twists in the fibers, you progress along and will need to move your left hand down the wrapped cordage to stop the fibers from untwisting.
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| rolled fibers that are ready to be wrapped into cordage | kink the fibers | holding the kink, twist the fibers with your right hand counter-clockwise | pinch the left-hand strand and twist your hand clockwise | position of your hands after clockwise twist | left-hand follows progression of right hand down the bundle of fibers | short wmv movie file showing reverse-wrap method |
3. Splicing. Eventually, you will need to add in additional lengths of fibrous material to make long cords for lashing, fishing, etc. As you are constructing your section of cord, stop about 6–7 cm (2.5–3 inches) before reaching the end of one of the fiber bundles (this length of a splice will be strong). Split open the fibers of both the short end bundle (in left hand of image below) and new bundle to be added (in right hand of image below). Interweave the fibers and twist them together. This will help the splice to be stronger and not pull apart when weighted. Once the old section of fibers and new section of fibers are twisted together, continue wrapping the cord together as outlined in Step 2 (above). Be sure to twist the fibers very tightly during this process to be sure the splice does not unravel when the cord is used. Try to plan ahead during your cord construction so that multiple splices do not occur too close to each other. This is accomplished by choosing appropriate lengths of fibers so that the ends are not near one another or by altering the lengths through cutting (if necessary). This manner of splicing is probably the easiest method (though it is also one of the weakest ways; several other stronger methods also exist).
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| reaching the end of one of the fiber bundles | splitting open the strands so the fibers can be interwoven for a better splice | old and new strand of fibers twisted together and ready to continue | part way through splice (left arrow is beginning of splice; right arrow is end of old fibers) | finished splice (left arrow is beginning of splice; right arrow is end of splice) |
Following is an example of a short-length of finished cordage made from stems of stinging nettle.
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| cordage with several splices made from stinging nettle | close-up of the stinging nettle fiber cordage |