Join us on Friday 13th August 10am-12pm digitally for a short course you can really get involved in as we step into Autumn. Learn all about the amazing nettle plant and how it can be used as food, dye and medicine across this two hour workshop and even learn how to make your very own needle thread.

This short course will teach you the history and mythology of the nettle, why the archaeology of textiles matter, and how to make nettle thread using Bronze Age (2500-500 BCE) techniques. This amazing plant can be used as food, dye, fabric and medicine, and appears in fairy tales such as 'The Wild Swans', where a princess must break a spell by weaving eleven nettle shirts. In this course, you will only have to make thread!

Participants must gather nettles and leave them to dry for at least one day before the course begins, in order to remove the stinging hairs. You can find nettles in shady areas, make sure you follow the Countryside Code when picking https://www.wildfooduk.com/foraging-code/. Cut the nettle stems wearing rubber gloves, and ideally pick ones that are over 1 metre tall, to generate good fibre. Participants will also need a normal table knife (not a sharp cutting knife), rubber gloves and a small dish of water.

For full information about the event please go online to https://www.heritagelincolnshire.org/shop/tickets/