Nettle cloth
The term nettle cloth , or nettle for short , originally referred to a fabric made from the fibers of the nettle . Today, nettle or nettle cloth or cotton nettle is understood to be a plain weave made of cotton .
Nettle made from nettle fibers
history
The stem of the old nettle ( Urtica dioica L.) plants in particular has very long and strong bast fibers . Millennia ago nettle thread, nettle thread and fabrics were made from these. For example, it was used to attach arrowheads and the fletching to arrow shafts together with birch pitch . The fibers are also suitable for the production of fabrics such as nettle cloth, which is stronger than linen , as well as for fishing nets and ropes .
Before cotton was introduced in Europe, there was still a nettle manufacture in Leipzig in 1723 .
properties
The excellent properties of nettle fibers are, among other things, high tear resistance, extremely high moisture absorption, bulkiness similar to cotton and a noble sheen.
Reawakening of interest
From the beginning of the 1990s, there was a revival of interest in native fiber plants. After the first boom in linen , hemp was again grown for fiber production in Germany. In recent years, the fiber nettle has moved back into the focus of research.
Today's use and manufacturer
Probably the only manufacturer in Germany for real nettle cloth was Stoffkontor Kranz AG with weaving mill in Schönau in the Black Forest until the opening of insolvency proceedings on June 15, 2009 . In 2007, over 200 tons of pure nettle straw were obtained for the company on a cultivation area of 225 hectares, that is around 1,000 large bales or 2,000 m³ of pressed nettle straw. However, the finished fabric, called “Nettle”, only consisted of 10 to 40 percent stinging nettle fibers, the rest is cotton (according to the 2009 price list from “Nettle World”). Stoffkontor Kranz AG did not succeed in solving the production problems. External sales fell far short of expectations. Sales were faked by invoicing but not paying for supplies to a company on the board . The production of nettle yarn is now being continued by the NFC GmbH Nettle Fiber Company.
Cotton nettle
Cotton nettle is usually available in the trade as unbleached, undyed raw nettle without finishing or as bleached nettle in three quality levels:
- Cretonne
- simplest, coarsest quality with an average of 24 threads per centimeter
- Renforcé
- medium quality with an average of 27 threads per centimeter and the
- calico
- finest quality with approx. 29 threads per centimeter.
Web links
- Entry to the entry in Krünitz : http://www.kruenitz1.uni-trier.de/xxx/n/kn02178.htm
- Entry " nettle " in the textile dictionary.
- Anonymous: Put on the nettles. In: dlz Agrarmagazin, 4/2008, pp. 170–173, PDF Online
literature
- Paul August Koch, Günther Satlow: Large Textile Lexicon , 1966, Stuttgart.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Insolvency Stoffkontor Kranz on wendland-net. Retrieved April 28, 2011
- ↑ Stoffkontor Kranz AG has filed for bankruptcy. October 25, 2012, accessed January 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Revolution at Stoffkontor Kranz AG - trend thoughts. Retrieved January 10, 2020 .
- ↑ NFA Natural Fiber AG. Retrieved January 11, 2020 .