Teasel

From the first moment I connected with this piece of oak wood at the sawmill it said ‘Teasel’. Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) has been around human civilisations for centuries. Now considered by many as a weed this plant was in the past valued for its medicinal and practical applications. In ancient Ireland it has been reported that teasel was used as a first layer for thatched roofs. The spiny stems helped to provide an anchor for other thatching materials.

Ferocious looking brooms were made from the plant and used for sweeping the bad spirits from the home. Teasel was also hung above doorways to stop witches entering. The plant is associated with the Nordic and Germanic goddess Hulda/Holda. She was in charge of the household and was especially important to spinning and textiles. Indeed, teasel was formerly the teasing plant of the cloth maker and is often referred to as ‘brushes and combs’. The dried heads of the teasel were held in wooden frames to comb woven cloth and raise the ‘nap’. This job was undertaken by fullers and is captured in the second part of the Latin name for the plant – Dispsacus fullonum. Teasels are still used today by some cloth manufacturers for raising the nap. Johnston of Elgin use teasels in the finishing of their Cashmere fabric.