Ellen Bangsbo holds a MA in Textile Design from the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts (1978) and a MA in Anthropology (2001). She has focused her research on plant fibers, specifically nettle cultivation, conducting fieldwork in Denmark and Nepal. Since 2011, she has given talks and workshops on spinning, dyeing, and cultivation of nettle fiber.

Nettle fiber has been used in Denmark since the Bronze Age (1700–500 BC) and was used in Central and Eastern Europe before the introduction of cotton. Research on nettle cultivation was already being conducted in Germany during the 1920s. In recent decades, the cultivation of nettle plants has intensified, reflecting the growing international interest in sustainable fibers.

Nettle fiber (Urtica dioica) is a strong, useful, and sustainable plant fiber that is very similar to flax. Both fibers use the same cultivation methods. The workshop will involve freshly harvested local nettles and also dried dew retted nettles from Denmark. Different retting methods will be explained, and a fiber retting test will be conducted by cooking the stems.

A dyeing test with nettle leaves will also be conducted on samples of wool, cotton, linen, and nettle fabric. Participants will experience different ways of using the fiber in various textile techniques, such as weaving, knitting, embroidery, knotting, and more. Written instructions on nettle cultivation will be provided.

The workshop concludes with a talk on the history of nettle cultivation in Europe and the current use of nettles in Nepal. The workshop lasts two days and 13 hours in total and will be taught in English.

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