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Hand-Spun Three-Ply Hemp Cord
Hemp's long, strong bast fibre spins into a hard, hard-wearing cord. Three singles spun one way and plied together the other way lock each other's twist, so the cord does not untwist under load.
It starts from hackled hemp fibre; the nested step shows how the stalks become that fibre.
Intermediate
Several evenings
Instructions
1
1
From stalk to fibre
From stalk to fibre
Retting, breaking, scutching and hackling the stalks.
2
2
Dress the fibre
Dress the fibre
Hold a strick of hackled hemp loosely and draw a few fibres at a time from its tip; work from a small bundle so the fibre does not tangle.
Materials for this step:
Hemp Fibre200 g3
3
Spin three singles
Spin three singles
Spin the drop spindle clockwise and draft the fibre into a firm single about 1–2 mm thick. Keep a bowl of water by you: damp fingers smooth the bast fibre as it twists. Spin three equal lengths.
Materials for this step:
Water0.2 literTools needed:
Drop Spindle
Bowl4
4
Ply the three
Ply the three
Tie the three singles to the spindle and spin it anticlockwise, the other way, letting the singles twist round each other until the cord hangs straight without kinking.
Tools needed:
Drop Spindle5
5
Set the twist
Set the twist
Wind the cord into a hank, soak it in water, and hang it to dry with a weight on the bottom to keep it straight.
Materials for this step:
Water1 literTools needed:
Weight
Clothesline6
6
Weigh and measure
Weigh and measure
Measure the length and weigh it: metres per 100 g tells you how thick and even your cord is.
Tools needed:
Tape Measure
Digital Kitchen Scale
Scissors7
7
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting
Hemp cord troubleshooting.
Flow
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