Step 1: Get Fiber
Other sources of fiber
Dead plants
The best sources of natural fiber are dead plants, although animal fur is believed to be an option. (I once saw a lady spinning yarn directly from an angora rabbit).
Milkweed is very mild and less allergenic. I haven't worked with it, personally, but I have seen the finished product, which looks a lot like synthetic twine. The stems should be harvested when they are dead and gray.
The inner bark of some trees is another excellent source, provided you harvest enough of it. The trick is to find fallen branches or dead trees with hanging bark. The best fiber trees are cedar, white linden and tulip tree. The tulip tree (sometimes incorrectly called "poplar" or "tulip poplar") is quite common and often loses its branches. Tree-based fiber is strong, but coarse.
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Dogbane grows easily in waste areas and disturbed soils, and seems to prefer partial shade. For this project, I cycled to an abandoned road that was intended for a housing development. Plants crawl across the roadway, the asphalt crumbles from freezing and thawing and earthstar fungus, and there are healthy stands of dognose, vetch, and other wasteland plants.
You will recognize these plants by their five-foot-tall, dark brown stems and dangling seed pods. Initially, the pods are twin tubes that meet at their ends but move away from each other in the middle. As the pods decompose, the tubes open, slowly releasing the seeds carried by the fluff into the wind. (Remember, aconite is related to milkweed.) Incidentally, this down is an excellent fire-starting material, but that's another item for another day.
Step 2: Harvest the fibers
The best stems are tall (for efficiency), brown (gray stems are too old), and have tall branches (to reduce the number of annoying branch knots). The gray stems are one or two years old and the fiber may have degraded. Recently dead stems are more difficult to clean because the bark has not decomposed as much. One year old stems seem to be the happy medium. As I write this, new growth is appearing, so last year's stems are perfect.
Nothing eats the dead stems, so feel free to take as many as you like. But be careful, they are still attached to the living rhizome, from which future stems will grow. The bottom end is fragile enough to break with a quick side-to-side movement.
Break off the branches and the top, but carefully; both tend to carry fiber with them. (I define the "top" as the upper part beyond the point where the stem has shrunk by about a third. More intuitively, it is the point after which there are too many branches and not enough fibers ).
Step 3: Take out the base wood
Flatten a rod lengthwise to break up the central "wood" and separate it into two roughly equal halves.
The wood is easy to remove. Starting at the thick end of one of the halves, cut a section of wood a few inches long. To prevent peeling, pull on one end, then the other, until the tape is removed. Throw them away. (You may notice that each half divides into two quarters again, which is natural).
For the purposes of this manual, you will only need to remove the wood from both halves of a single rod. A 120cm rod can be reduced to a 60cm rope, but you can always add more later.
Step 4: Tenderize and Clean
You now have two ribbons, one side of which is covered with a dark brown flaky outer bark. While the outer bark is only a little bothersome, the curly shape of the ribbon makes the fiber quite difficult to work with. In addition, it is likely that knots of branches and small pieces of wood are hidden there. We can kill three birds with one stone by tenderizing the fiber, which simply involves grinding it between your thumb and forefinger.
You will notice that although this separates the fiber somewhat (a necessary evil), it is still very cross-linked.
With my 3 foot tall rod, this step took 9 minutes and my hands were a little sore (this is the most annoying step).
At this point, you have two strands, and each of them tapers along its length. To achieve a consistent width, reverse one strand and lay it alongside the other. Rub them together a little so they stay roughly connected.
Step 5: Stringing Philosophy
Splice only one strand at a time. (Only one strand should end at a time.)
A dry fiber can be wound more tightly than a wet fiber. So make sure your fiber is dry. Wet rope disintegrates as it dries.
A finished cord can be used as a strand in a larger cord. This is how these superb rope bridges are made in the Andes, with grass.
Wrap tightly, wrap securely. There is no way to repair a loose rope other than unwind it completely.
Step 6: Reverse Winding
This is a very tactile activity, so instructions are not sufficient. Follow me as I explain reverse winding from several different points of view. Refer to the diagram and video often, but also experiment with different techniques.
Start your wick
About a quarter of the way through the wire, twist a short segment in opposite directions to form a tight loop. (Pinch this loop with your left thumb and index finger.
There are now two strands, one closer to you and one further away, and you are ready to begin.
Wrap
For each iteration:
1. With your right thumb and index finger an inch from your left, twist the farthest strand in the opposite direction (clockwise if looking from the right). It should be twisted well, but should not start to curl. This step is called "twisting away".
2. Use your middle (right) finger to squeeze the nearest strand against your (right) index finger. Turn your wrist 180 degrees toward you, swapping strands. This step is called "resume."
3. Lightly push the Y-junction between the strands with your right index finger to keep the wrap tight.
Repeat the operation several times!
To avoid having to make your own rope, take a paracord or a paracord bracelet with you so that you always have what you need with you!