Stinging Nettle Paper

Finally!  Five whole days of beautiful summer weather so I got out my floaty chair yesterday and, despite the barely above freezing water temperatures, drifted around on my lake peeling plant fibre for paper.

Not everyone gets excited about a proliferation of stinging nettle growing on their property, but I was thrilled to find a lush patch behind my shed. 

Wearing garden gloves, I first strip the leaves and seeds from the stalks.  This removes all the stinging bits.  Then with bare hands I strip the herbaceous bast fibre from the stalks.   You can read about the rest of the process in my previous post about making handmade paper.

Stinging nettle fibre makes a beautiful pale greenish, cloth-like paper that is very strong. 

Pure stinging nettle paper.

Collecting More Plants for Paper

Fireweed blooming in late summer

I'll be doing the papermaking tutorial soon so here is a bit more information on collecting plants.  

Never collect fibre that you cannot identify and do not collect plants that have been identified as noxious weeds in your area.  Some plants can be irritants and some can be deadly, even to handle (water hemlock for example).

My goal is to provide basic instructions, making it as simple as possible for you to start making your own paper.  For more detailed information, there are some excellent books available.  Half the fun of making paper from scratch is making your own discoveries.  If you find a plant that is safe to use and you think it might make a nice paper, go ahead and try it.  Cost is negligible.