How to Make Rope / String With Natural Plant Fibers

by Gabriel Almeida in Craft > Fiber Arts

2451 Views, 28 Favorites, 0 Comments

How to Make Rope / String With Natural Plant Fibers

F55HQNDL19AMRV1.jpg
F1W4R8UL19AMS37.jpg
FQFZBW2L19AMR7W.jpg
FYSQ566L19AMVOU.jpg
FJLT2E0L19AMU8M.jpg
F24H5W0L19AMTS6.jpg

The history of ropes is very old, there are traces of ropes dating back 20,000 years at that time there were no synthetic fibers or plastic derivatives as there are today, only natural fibers from plants and that is what I will try to reconstruct: how to make rope with plant fibers that we can find in our garden. Almost all plants have fibers, but some are more suitable for ropes because of their strength, such as flax, sisal, jute, etc.

My rope was made with a plant that unfortunately I don't know the name of but is used a lot in my area to tie things with the leaves.

Let's see the materials:

Supplies

F83GR2WL19AMP9E.jpg
FBCAKD5L19AMP9K.jpg
FISXBM7L19AMP6V.jpg
FAMHNV9L19AMOKR.jpg
FTJQJOQL19AMW2G.jpg
FYECOU9L19AMWVA.jpg

1º Part of the plant from which the fibers will be extracted

2º A hammer [ To crush the plant ]

3º An old comb [To remove the fleshy part of the plant and the broken fibers]

4º Water

The plants in the introduction are the most famous for their fibers but there are many other plants that can also be used to make rope such as the stem of the nettle [urtica] photo 4, the leaves of the agave [agave americana] photo 6 and many other plants, just you research the plants in your area that are fibrous.

The plant I used is the one in the photo 5

Crush the Plant

FBP5K8EL19AMP9S.jpg
FNY1KCVL19AMP9Y.jpg
FGR6MNOL19AMPA1.jpg
FWFFREVL19AMPAN.jpg
FBDQMQOL19AMPAU.jpg

The first step is to crush the plant, stem, leaf etc. It is important to separate the fibers from the fleshy part. Avoid hitting them in the same place all the time because that way you will break the fibers and in the part where you pass the comb there will be many more loose fibers that will be a problem in addition to having less resistance to the rope at the end.

When you think it has been well crushed, leave it in water for about 10 minutes and then rinse it with water to remove most of the "useless" part.

Pass the Comb

F76999PL19AMPAX.jpg
FAUQ4EZL19AMPBP.jpg
FGTWSLOL19AMPC5.jpg

Use a comb to remove the broken fibers and the fleshy part, when most of it has been removed, leave it in water for another 10 minutes (preferably hot) and rinse.

Separate the Fibers

FMGDH02L19AMPEV.jpg
FT9I3IIL19AMPEF.jpg

Now you have to separate the fibers, as I'm going to make a braid I'm going to separate 3 sets, but it could also be a 4 braid. And pass the comb again in case there is any damaged fiber to be removed.

When ready, let it dry for 1 to 4 hours depending on the weather.

Make the Strings

FYCGBVWL19AMPFJ.jpg
FJ12W1ML19AMPNJ.jpg
FG4O5ZJL19AMPTJ.jpg
FSK44AFL19AMPTM.jpg
F5DNO16L19AMPVR.jpg
FFQK5QPL19AMQ7S.jpg
FU94U05L19AMQKV.jpg
F4MG0ONL19AMPFK.jpg
FD2E58ZL19AMPUX.jpg

When it's dry, start twisting the cords to give them more firmness and make a knot at each end so it doesn't start to unravel.

In the pictures you can see better what I'm saying


Make the Braid

FEEXK2TL19AMQMF.jpg
FAGGKG0L19AMQMJ.jpg
FK9GT8TL19AMQML.jpg
F4DX45SL19AMQRU.jpg
F4W1B65L19AMQRN.jpg

Now you have to make the braid , as I said before I will do it with 3 strings but you can do it with 4 .

If you don't know how to do it, ask your sister, wife, girlfriend, they will know how to do it.

In the beginning you have to tie a knot in the 3 strings and in the end the same thing, I left two longer strings to be able to tie something at the end of the rope.

Finishing

F2RU400L19AMQRY.jpg
FE0ZQGPL19AMRRN.jpg
F9ICTXGL19AMQS7.jpg
FDF6USHL19AMTG5.jpg
F61WQFZL19AMVDQ.jpg
F98JXH0L19AMR2K.jpg
F0RPD1DL19AMULD.jpg
FIY7EK9L19AMQTR.jpg

To improve the look, you can cut the fibers that stick out with scissors because even with the comb there can always be some broken, Now you already have a real rope made only of natural fibers and better than that, you made it yourself.

In addition, it is 100% diodegradable, that is, if you lose it in nature, it will decompose leaving no residue.

As for the weight you can lift, I tested lifting 4 5-liter bottles with the rope, totaling 20 kg, approximately 45 lb, and everything was ok, but I think I could handle much more.

This is an excellent bushcraft project to do in 2 hours.


Thank you and see you next time