How To Harvest and Process Dogbane For Natural Fibers 

Nearly cried with joy to see a YOUNG woman carry on the skills. I'm 75 and have seen only one other, a man, once , in 45 years, work with nettle fiber. I've grown flax in my front yard to spin. Spin and weave wool. Now I hear Milkweed (!) also has fiber. I raise milkweed for beautiful balls of flowers (and butterflies), and scatter a hundred seed pods to build up the meadow. I demo the thread skills at 18C reenactments where tourists have no clue and are amazed. Thank you Miss Corrigan for sharing with the world. THANK YOU for teaching me TWO new fibers to hunt for. )))))

Regarding the questions about "brushing"....you can find lots of information about the entire process by searching on "Flax processing" or "hemp processing". As she said, those fibers are all "bast" fibers and are handled the same way. Flax and hemp have been used far more extensively than dog bane and whole industries have developed around them for millennia. In short, flax and hemp processors "break" the stalks with a tool called a "break", then they use a scutching knife to remove the "hurds" (broken stalks) leaving behind only the fiber. Then you use combs or brushes called hackles or hatchels to remove any remaining debris and the short fibers (the tow....btw, this is the origin of the phrase "tow head", meaning a boy with light colored hair). Then you spin the fibers into thread and put the thread on a loom and weave your fabric. I've been raising flax and doing demonstrations for the public and school kids for about 20 years as a Rev War reenactor....this is an amazing process and it's cool when children realize that somebody "grew" their clothes if they're wearing natural fibers.

I have a necklace that I made as a kid from this plant. I had no idea what it was untill now! I would like you to know that this is the first comment I have ever written on RU-vid. I feel compelled to thank you Sarah for showing this to me; it brought me back to my childhood of wandering around a Pennsylvania creek and learning all it would show me. I wish you all the best on your journey, safe travels.

Ok, that was new!!! I have an entire field of this and had not heard of the fiber use. I see an experiment coming on this summer! Thank you and thumbs up!

Had dermestid beetles in the scrapings from a buffalo hide, a paper grocery bag 3/4 full. Made a A smudge bundle of dog bane peels stalks. Laid the bag on the side, so the breeze blew the smoke directly into the bag. I less than 5 minutes all vermin were dead

This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! I want to make one of those bags!

Thank you for showing us about dog bane, such a beautiful shy smile

Someone whacked a bunch of Apocynum cannabinum in a ditch with a sickle-bar mower recently. I let it sit for a few days, then gathered an enormous bundle. I want to make a bowstring, so I figured I would need a lot. I thought to just skin the stems and spin that, but I learned from this video I should only collect the "bast" fibers. Good to know. A heavy bowstring will cast an arrow more slowly. So much to learn!!

Your gorgeous inside and out ! Your knowledge is so important it’s lost nowadays to so many thank you for keeping alive 🪶

The color on that is gorgeous! I'm used to hemp and linen, which have a much more golden color, and I love that rich amber!

Excellent video. I miss living in New England sorely. You have a great voice! Keep up the good work.

The "see-sawing" technique is key; thank you for sharing!

I just moved to Ga. From South Florida and really want to learn to make things from plants but I seem to be alone in this... You are a wonderful teacher and the video is great. Thank You & peace people

Great video

I am enamored by the work you guys do at the Roots School and I throughly enjoy the knowledge you share! BIG thumbs up!

Thanks for explaning the way you get it to come apart the correct way.

How lovely! Such a pretty little bag. Thanks for the video!

Awesome! Thank for sharing.

Wow....awesome. I want that bag.....gimmie that bag. :P Seriously...that bag is worth a fortune. It exemplifies the persistence, determination and incredible ingenuity of the human species. A species completely ill equipped to survive on this planet ....other than the attributes mentioned above. So cool.

Very good. Thanks for the info!

great info sarah ,,,thank you very much. ..bill

Great video. Such a pretty smile

Great work

Thanks, for the great video!!

And i fell in love!

Out west, we have a different vocabulary: I’ve never heard of “herd,” we call it pith. We call the outer layer bark, not cuticle. FYI

Wow that is amazing. I have been looking for a fiberus planet just like this and this one is exactly what I was looking for. I hope I can find some in Maine.

That bag though 😍

Wow how do you get the fibers so clean? I always still have tiny bits of bark in there. It doesn’t affect its utility, but it would be nice to have it as clean as yours turned out.

That bag though! Beautiful work! Do you have any seeds for trade or sale? Would love to have some so I can grow some! Thanks for sharing?? :)

could you show us how to brush it out to fine fibres?

Great video Sarah, what time of year is best to harvest dogbane?

Very interesting! Do you find there is a particular time of year that is best for harvesting? I am in the Rocky Mountains, thinking about harvesting some for bow backing.

Show us the tools you are using to "brush and comb" your fibers. Please show us how to make them as well.

For your bag, you say you spun the fiber into a 2-ply twine and then... Circular knitted? Basketweaving? Or other technique? (Just curious!)

How have you made the warp for this twined basket? Was it also from dogbane? I know how to make cordage, and trying to transition to twining

Do you think there would be any in Arkansas in early April? It's getting pretty warm

I suspect I have dogbane in my yard. When do you collect and process it?

How do I know if I've waited too late to harvest this year's dogbane? If the seed pods have already opened, have I missed the window? I'm worried the dogbane I harvested has already begun to rot on the stalk a bit early this year.

You say you "brush it out." What do you use to brush it with?

Isn't dogbane poisonous? No contact dermatitis?