Plant Fiber — Hemp, Nettle & Bast Fibres

Hemp (대마 — Cannabis sativa)

Hemp is one of the oldest cultivated plants in human history — used for fibre, oil, food, and medicine for over 10,000 years. Hemp bast fibre is longer and stronger than most plant fibres, with natural antibacterial properties and resistance to UV degradation.

In art and material practice:

• Hemp hurds (the woody core separated from the fibre) are the primary substrate for mycelium composite growing
• Hemp fibre reinforces adobe and rammed earth (added to the mix as organic binder)
• Hemp paper has been made for thousands of years — more durable and acid-free than wood pulp paper
• Hemp rope and twine for bundling in eco-printing and natural dyeing
• Hemp textile is among the most lightfast natural fabrics — takes natural dye well

Nettle (쐐기풀 — Urtica dioica)

Stinging nettle produces a fine, strong bast fibre comparable in quality to high-grade linen. In The Material Way 2025 research, nettle was examined as a local European alternative to imported bast fibres. Historically, nettle was a primary European textile fibre before being displaced by cotton in the 18th–19th centuries.

Textile qualities:

• Soft, lustrous fibre when properly processed
• Strong and durable — comparable to or stronger than flax/linen
• Good dye uptake — especially with tannin-based mordants and natural dyes
• Requires retting and scutching (same process as flax)

Hobb (Hobblebush / Viburnum lantan)

Mentioned in The Material Way 2025 notes — a shrub whose flexible, bark-bearing branches have been used for binding and weaving in indigenous material practices of northern Europe and North America.

Retting — Fibre Separation

Retting is the microbial or chemical process used to separate bast fibres from the plant stem:

• Water retting: Submerge bundled stalks in water (river, pond, or tank) for 1–4 weeks. Bacteria degrade the pectin binding the fibres to the stem. Traditional but produces strong-smelling effluent.
• Dew retting: Lay stalks on grass, exposed to alternating moisture and sun. Slower (4–6 weeks) but gentler on fibre quality and environmentally cleaner.
• Chemical retting: Sodium hydroxide or other alkalis — very fast but damages fibre quality.

In Bioplastic Composite

Plant fibres — particularly hemp hurds and nettle fibre — are used as reinforcement in bioplastic composites. Adding chopped fibre to agar, gelatin, or starch bioplastic increases tensile strength and reduces brittleness. The fibre creates a matrix similar to composite engineering materials but from fully compostable sources.

Natural Dyeing Plant Fibres

See: Mordanting for fibre-specific mordanting techniques. Key notes:

• Hemp and nettle are cellulose fibres — require tannin or soy milk pre-treatment for good dye uptake
• Both fibres are more difficult to dye than protein fibres (wool, silk)
• Natural dyes well-suited to hemp/nettle: walnut (direct, no mordant needed), indigo (works well on all cellulose), botanical dyes with alum + tannin

Jay's Studio Note

In the context of Material Memory Studio, plant fibres — particularly hemp — appear as connective tissue across multiple practices: the substrate for mycelium growth, the reinforcement in bioplastic composites, the textile receiving eco-prints and natural dye, and the source of paper for artist books. The fibre is always the same molecule (cellulose); what changes is what surrounds it and what uses it.

Related Materials

Natural Dye · Mordanting · Eco-Printing · Mycelium · Agar Bioplastic