Nettle fiber bow string ??

[CowtownClown]

There's a wealth of on-line information on using nettle fibres:  try searching for "nettles for textiles" and you'll find info on harvesting, retting, and rendering the stalks into useable fibres.  On YouTube there're instructional videos, and on Facebook there's a "Nettles for Textiles" group.  They discuss many of the issues being discussed here and provide proven methods for getting long fibres.

[Badger]

  Nettle makes an excellent bow string as said earlier. My strongest nettle string was smaller diameter than my best linen string. I have an Australian flax plant in my building with some very strong long fibers I am having trouble processing, anyone know anything about processing Australian flax. I tried retting and it seemed to have no effect. I even tried extensive boiling with no luck. I am thinking of trying a pressure cooker.