Hemp Dogbane
(Apocynum cannabinum)

Process
1. one stalk picked from lincoln park in june 2026. It broke clean off at the base, no roots attached.
2. brought home, de-leaved and de-stemmed. Left stalk to dry on counter for ~1 week.
3. Hit stalk with hammer to split, then peeled bark/bast from woody material.
4. Bark remained attached to fiber, when tried to scrape the bark off the fiber would break. As the fiber was twisted the bark would flake adn dust off, but not completely.
5. Fiber twisted well, and pretty strong. Got a few long peices but most were quite short.
6. Once a couple feet of cordage was twisted I folded it and braided it into an anklet.

For Next Time:
• try retting for softer material
• try gathering in the fall, perhaps from mowed field
• try whacking it more to separate bark and fiber (larger amount all in one place, whack as one)