The Cornish grandma tackling fast fashion by using stinging nettles to knit scarves
A nature-loving grandma from Cornwall has started weaving sustainable scarves from nettles after recently graduating with a degree in Textiles.
Jane Gray, 63, has lived in Cornwall since 1982. She recently graduated from Falmouth University with a degree in textiles design and has now set up a weaving studio at her home in Hayle.
The grandmother-of-eight is convincing a growing number of fans that putting stinging nettles around your neck is more comforting than it sounds.
“I say to people, wearing a nettle scarf is like having a hug from nature,” she said.
Jane uses yarn made from nettles to weave scarves, intertwining the nettles with colourful end-of-the-line linen leftover from mills which have closed down.
But her love for nettles does not end with what she wears - Jane also eats and drinks the prickly plants every day.
The loving grandma says the environment and her grandchildren's future have been a key motivation for her in her new venture.
"Everything I do, I have them in my mind," she said.
"I decided that for the rest of my life, I wanted to do something that would benefit myself, my grandchildren and the planet.
"So having always had an artistic, creative flare, I decided to go to university and study textile design. I thought it would grow my confidence and enable me to create a business around something sustainable that I would enjoy and spend the rest of my life doing."
Jane uses nettle yarn which is produced in Nepal for her scarves, but she still collects her own nettles every day from behind her house in Upton Towans.
"Having researched nettles as a fibre, I then discovered how beneficial nettles are to consume. So I now eat and drink nettles on a daily basis," she said.
Jane says she doesn’t really mind getting stung, but does try to avoid it as best she can by picking nettles from the stem and always pulling upwards.
She says the nettles in Nepal are ‘chunkier’ than the ones which grow in the UK, so there is a lot more fibre in the stems. When the fibres are extracted and processed into yarn, they become very soft.
“I think everybody needs a patch of nettles in their garden, because they’re fabulous to pick for our own consumption, but they’re also great for the bees and the butterflies," Jane said.
Jane is taking part in Open Studios Cornwall from May 28 to June 5, opening up her weaving studio to anyone who is keen to see her nettle scarves being made while drinking a cup of nettle tea.