Ancestors

Written by Paul Fenwick on 2024-12-10 at 01:18

Garden waste to fibre, round two, let's go!!!

Today we're using yucca from green waste, an axe, and a tub.

I've chopped off the ends of the yucca, and pounded them with the back of the axe to bruise them.

They're now soaking for a week so microbial action can eat away the pulp and loosen the fibres.

There's no detergent here. Yucca contains natural saponins that can be used like soap.

Previous thread is here: https://cloudisland.nz/@pjf/113529177215175664

and here: https://cloudisland.nz/@pjf/113535353936853749

[#]NeolithicTech

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Written by Paul Fenwick on 2024-12-22 at 10:49

Two weeks later, and this second batch of yucca leaves definitely smells ripe, but the leaves aren't quite there yet.

I've taken them out, scraped them all with a rock, rinsed them many times until the water ran almost clear, and put them back in to soak for a few more days.

Honestly with a bit more labour I could get fibres from them, but I'm lazy, and after this scrape the flesh should soften up pretty quick.

[#]NeolithicTech #fibre

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Written by Paul Fenwick on 2024-12-26 at 07:51

It's a few days later. The retting bath doesn't smell much any more, although the flies are all over it so maybe I've just become used to the smell.

The yucca leaves have been removed and given a good scrape. My scapula kept snapping, so I had to switch to a stone tool (not shown) part way through.

The scraped fibres are then rinsed, and hung out on the line to dry. Then we'll scrape, comb, and wash them some more.

[#]NeolithicTech #fibre

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Written by Paul Fenwick on 2024-12-26 at 23:41

The fibres still need just a little more time to finish drying¹, but a little test carding is looking extremely promising! #NeolithicTech #fibre

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¹ The ends are still wet, which causes my carding paddles to catch, and also the chaff we want to remove doesn't flake off nicely unless it's really dry. That's why the bottom end of the fibres are whiter and cleaner than the top. They should be consistently white once they're fully processed.

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Written by Paul Fenwick on 2024-12-27 at 09:15

After a summer's afternoon drying, I took down the fibres and spent maybe five or ten minutes manually working them to break up the remaining chaff, as well as a few strokes with the cat brush on the base to open things up a yet.

This isn't yet their final form, but it's getting close to it. A solid brushing session and they'll be ready!

I'm really glad how these turned out, especially since I put in way less effort at the start of the process.

[#]neolithicTech #fibre

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Toot

Written by Paul Fenwick on 2025-01-28 at 00:17

Oh gosh, I've been hand-twisting the yucca fibres while on my train trip, and they are lovely to work with. Soft, clean, and pliable.

Clean in particular is a lovely experience. I work with a lot of raw fibres that still have some vegetative matter attached, a lot of which comes away with the twisting process. These yucca result in much less dust, and a much more pliable cord. ❤️

[#]fibre #neolithicTech #fibreArt

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Descendants

Written by Betsy on 2025-01-28 at 00:58

@pjf the result looks like it would be lovely to work with!

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