Plant Fibers for Cordage

Many plant fibers can be used to make cordage. Here I'll demonstrate how to process different kinds of plant fibers from the inner bark of trees and plants, as well as from some leaves.

Dogbane

In our region, the most valuable plant fibers for cordage are from Dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum). Dogbane should be harvested in the Fall, after it has gone to seed, and is processed similarly to other similar plants like Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) or Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa).

Scraped Dogbane

After harvest, trim the side branches off and hang the plants to dry head down.


When the stalks are dry, gently shave off the thin outer bark with a sharp knife held at an angle. If you lift up fibers when you do that you've already gone a little too far. It's better to have a little outer bark left than damaged fibers. The picture on the right hand side shows a dogbane stalk with a scraped center portion. The outer edges still have the outer bark on and you can see that it's very thin.

Next, starting from the top, crush the stalk flat between your fingers. Continue down the stalk, making sure that the split follows a straight line.


When you're done, turn the stalk a quarter turn and repeat the process. You should end up with four sections divided by four splits.

Split Dogbane

Open the stalk flat by going up one of the slits with a finger. You'll see the pithy center surrounded by the woody stem; the fibers are on the opposite side.

Dogbane stalk opened flat

Take about 3-4 inches of the split stalk between your fingers and break the woody stems. (Note: for plants with strong joints, where branches used to meet the stalk, like nettles, you need to break at or near the joint and separate the fibers there very slowly and carefully or they will break; thankfully, dogbane is much easier to deal with!)

Broken woody stems

Separating the fibers from the wood

Still holding the stems firmly in one hand, separate the wood from the fibers with the other hand, making sure that as much as possible of the fibers stays connected to what you still have in your hand.

Wood is removed from the fibers

Now slide your hand another 3-4 inches and repeat the process, each time removing the wood from the fibers and keeping as many fibers intact as possible. In the end, you should end up with four broad strands of fibers.

Unprocessed Dogbane Fibers

Separate the strands in two groups (two strands per group) and rub the fibers from each group between your palms, spinning them in the process. This will remove any remaining flakes from the outer bark and separate the fibers some more.

Processed Dogbane Fibers

Now you should have two strands of processed fibers. To make reverse-wrap cordage, follow the directions given in a previous post. Dogbane cordage is very strong and can be used in many situations, including as a bow string and in nets submerged in water.

Dogbane Cordage

Certain trees with a fibrous inner bark can also be used for cordage. Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) is one of them.

Get a strip of bark and separate the inner bark from the outer bark. You'll note that the fibers of the inner bark are tightly packed together and cannot be used as they are.

Strip of Cedar Bark

Use a rounded hammer stone to pound the bark and different layers will start to separate.

Layers of Cedar Separating

You can then separate those layers by hand, for both width and thickness. Here I take a thin layer about 1/4 inch wide and damp it lightly to help the fibers remain flexible during the twisting.

Cedar Strip

Then twist two strips together as described previously to obtain the cordage.

Cedar Cordage

 If you keep on pounding the bark for a longer period of time, then the layers will separate into individual fibers.

Pounded Cedar Bark

You end up with "soft-shredded" bark, which can also be used for cordage but it will be quite a bit weaker. Traditionally, that soft-shredded bark was used for diapers, napkins, towels, etc.

Soft-Shredded Cedar Fibers

In several ethnographic accounts I read that Natives would make ropes to "transport fire" so that they wouldn't have to start a new one at a new camp location. It works great with cedar! Just ignite one end of the cedar cordage with your fire then blow it out. The cordage will keep on consuming itself slowly. When you reach your new location, add the smoldering cedar cordage to a tinder bundle and blow gently on it until the fire comes back to life.

Smoldering Cedar Bark Cordage

The inner bark of Cottonwood (Populus nigra) can be used in the same way. Get bark from a down tree if possible, as the fibrous inner bark can remain useable long after the tree's death. The inner bark of cottonwood trees doesn't need to be pounded as it comes off by itself in large bands of fibers.

Cottonwood Bark

Cottonwood Inner Bark Fibers

Get strands of the fibers and twist them into cordage. Sometimes it helps if the fibers are slightly damp. Cottonwood cordage is fairly weak so I usually just use larger strands to make thick cordage to hold things together temporarily.

Cottonwood Bark Cordage

Though you can light up cottonwood bark like cedar bark above, I find that it produces a fairly toxic smoke so I never use it that way.

Willow bark can also be used in interesting ways.

Willow Wand

Scraping Off the Outer Bark

As with other plants, it is the inner bark that is used. Scrape off the outer bark with the back of your knife; that's the green part. The inner bark is white and fibrous. It's OK if a thin layer of light green remains stuck to it.




Then use a sharp knife to cut a slit lengthwise through the inner bark, as shown below.

Incised Inner Bark

 Unwrap the bark away from the wood underneath.

Peeling Off the Inner Bark

Strands of Inner Bark

 You can then cut out strands of the desired thickness to twist together into cordage.

Willow Cordage

After you've used the inner bark for cordage, you can also turn the wood into skeined willow. First, split the stem lengthwise into quarters.

Splitting the Willow Lengthwise

Then, use a sharp knife to shave off the inside point of your triangular quarters, giving you somewhat flat pieces.

Skeining Willow

You can then wrap the freshly skeined willow around an object to make it more beautiful or use it as weaving material for baskets. You can also dry it and store it for future use. Just soak it in water at least overnight for it to be pliable enough to use again.

Wrapped Skeined Willow

 Finally, I'll leave you with how to get fibers out of a yucca leaf. Yucca doesn't grow naturally where I live but people seem to like cultivating it as an ornamental so you shouldn't have any problem finding it.

Yucca Leaves

Cut a fresh leaf from the plant, as low to the ground as possible.


Many people will tell you that you need to pound the leaves into a mush before you can scrape them off but I don't find that to be true.


Just place the leaf on a flat surface and scrape off the fleshy green part until you expose the white fibers beneath. Use the back of a knife or a stone scraper to do so.





Here is what it looks like after you've scraped one side.

Scraped Yucca Leaf

Then flip the leaf over and scrape the other side until only the white fibers remain.

Scraping the Leaves to Expose the Fibers

 Then twist the fibers together into a cordage that's remarkably strong and beautiful.

Yucca Cordage

Single Yucca Fiber

Yucca fibers are actually so strong that they can be used individually as sewing thread!











Happy cordage making!

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