Birte Ford began experimenting with nettles in the 1990s when she moved to Scotland. In her quest to find the simplest way to get spinnable fibres from nettles, she has experimented with dew and water retting, the two traditional methods for retting flax and hemp. While both these methods work well for nettles, Birte found a simpler method for a cold northern European climate, which she termed root retting. This book is about her work with wild nettles and her results.