Birte Barner Ford (neé Jespersen) died on Wednesday 13th March 2024, survived by her three children, Anna, Karen, and Robin and six grandchildren. She lived a good and interesting life, independent till the end. Her work with nettles was respected by handcrafters and archaeologists.
Birte was born in Gram, in Jylland, Denmark in 1938. She grew up in Dianalund in Sjælland with her twin sister and three other siblings.
Birte studied at the Skolen for boligindretning in Copenhagen to become an Interior Designer. She first came to the UK in the early 60s working for a Burford Antique dealer in the Cotswolds and some life drawing classes at the Ruskin School of Art in Oxford.
Her marriage to Dr. William Lyall Ford in 1963 brought her into the world of science, specifically a scientific community in the emerging science of immunology. She was an expert hostess, and a remarkable cook and entertained many visiting scientists as Bill led his field. She did not need to feign her interest in the lymphocytes and T-cells being discussed over her beautiful dinner table. Her exposure to science later formed the basis of her systematic approach to finding the best method for harvesting and retting nettles.
From 1976-1984 the family lived in Altrincham In Manchester. As well as raising three children, Birte developed her interest in textiles. She was always doing craftwork, enjoying making necklaces and painting. She worked with other local crafts enthusiasts to learn to spin, using both a drop spindle and a saxon wheel, first with wool and later with cotton and linen. She volunteered at the local primary school to share these skills with the children.
Birte worked at the National Trust Quarry Bank Mill Museum in Styal, demonstrating hand spinning and weaving on large handlooms, often using a Jacquard loom with Kay's flying shuttle used before the steam power. She studied the Industrial Revolution and became an expert on the journey from raw fibre to cloth.
Birte also developed a freelance career in surface design selling patterns for use on textiles and paper. She created the Dandyloom kit, a backstrap loom to introduce children to the concept of weaving.
Bill’s death in a car accident in November 1984 led her to move to Scotland. Having spent many happy family holidays in Highland Perthshire. Having spent many happy holidays in Perthshire, she bought a cottage in the area. Her siblings turned up to help her turn it into a livable dwelling and also continued to expand the property to include a wood frame artist studio, which then became her home.
The wild nettles in her garden inspired her to find the secret of producing usable yarn from nettles. She developed a harvesting and retting method taking rigorous notes on each trial to find the best method. She also spun the fibers as if they were cotton, having learned how to do this in Styal. She thoroughly researched the history and bio-technology of nettle fibres. After much encouragement, she wrote her method in a book, which she published in 2014, Yarn from Wild Nettles: A Practical Guide. Only a small fraction of what she knew about the history of nettle fibres and could fit into the book. She also developed Nettlecraft classes at her home and was invited as a speaker and trainer, in Denmark and Sweden. Her nettle work was of great interest to archeologists in Britain and Denmark. She enjoyed demonstrating textile crafts at the Crannog Centre on Loch Tay and working with the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde. She collected rocks with natural holes that could be transformed into pendants with a nettle string made with a Navajo ply. She enjoyed selling her products at Craft Fairs at home in Perthshire.
Throughout her life she let her curiosity lead her, accompanied by an unstoppable creativity. She was loved and hugely respected by her family, nieces and nephews, and by so many old friends and new friends in the world of ancient textiles.