Bramble Binding for Skep making

1.  Blackberry stems (= brambles) are best gathered in winter, between about November and March, when fully matured and not growing. The prepared strips can be stored, rolled up and dry, for as long as you wish.

2.   Walk the hedgerows looking for long straight unbranched stems, which usually grow from ground level up through the centre of the hedge. Carry a pair of secateurs and some good gloves.

3.    There are very many (about 400) different sorts of blackberry (Rubus fruticosus agg.) and many of them are not suitable, being too thin, short or branched. 2m lengths of straight thick stem of the current year's growth are the most convenient to use. Any longer becomes a liability when working.. Two-year-old wood is far too stiff usually and often has grown branches.

4.     Each stem makes four strips. Start by removing all the prickles and as much of the bark as practical. For this a cheap spanner is good. Just pull the stem through the spanner to knock off the spines, then back and forth using the edge of the spanner or your pocket knife to scrape off the bark down to white wood.

5.     It's no good collecting lots of bramble to work on later - it is far easier to split and scrape when completely fresh.

6.    Split your stem in two with your knife. Start at the thick end by cutting in across the butt. Twist the knife to split the stem, pressing alternate ways so that you are always bending the thicker side most. This keeps the split central and end-to-end. The method is the same as for using a froe to split ash or hazel rods - push against the thicker half.

7.    Now split the halves into quarters by the same method.

8.   Scrape off the pith until you have long thin strips of wood. Trim any thick bits or snags to make them easy to work later.

9.   Bend them to make them supple. Always bend with the inside in and the outside out or they will crack. The method is to run the strip around the handle of the knife or any other round object as if the bramble were a belt going round a pulley.

10.   Roll up the strips for neat storage, I store mine threaded on a string hanging up dry in my garage. They will last for years if need be.

11.    Soak your strips in a bucket of water for a few minutes before you use them. This makes them supple again.     

Bramble strips are wider and more variable than 6mm cane so you may need a wider fid specially for use with bramble.

The bramble shown below was made following the above instructions by Joy Markgraf, who lives in Washington state, USA.