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Hazel Weaving & Wattle Hurdles
Hazel (Corylus avellana) produces a versatile, pliable wood that can be utilised in the construction of screens to retain livestock, for privacy, to construct wattle and daub walls, for decoration within a garden and for growing climbing plants over.
The ideal sized material for weaving is 0.5” to 1.5” (1.25 – 3.75cm) in diameter and represents one or two years of growth. Hazel rods are most flexible when used as greenwood (freshly cut). Hazel rods that are allowed to dry/season over several months lose their flexibility and can no longer be used successfully for weaving. Traditionally, hazel and other timbers used for similar green woodwork are not treated against decay. A permanent hazel screen left outdoors can last for 5-7 years by which time the wood will become brittle. Portable Wattle hurdles can last longer if stored under shelter when not in use.
Cutting time
Cut material from the tree in late winter to early spring (January to March).
Cut stems back to 3” or 4” from the ground. Ensure the remaining part of the stem/trunk is not damaged as it is from here that new shoots will grow. Hazel vigorously regenerates after coppicing. A sloped cut would prevent water sitting and rotting the remaining trunk. Hazel trees should be coppiced yearly or bi-yearly to ensure you have a continuous supply of suitably sized material for weaving in the winter.
Woven screens can be made using whole round and riven (split) rods. Whole rods obviously offer the most strength but add weight and require more material. Rods can be riven into two pieces using a billhook. When splitting Hazel rods, knock the billhook into the middle of the end grain and pull/ease the wood on each side of the blade to get the split to run straight and true through the middle. Encourage the split with the blade. If the split tries to travel down and out one side. Pull on the hazel on the opposite side that the split is heading to redirect the split down the middle.
Screens can be made in two ways:
- Permanent screen: Hazel posts with a point cut with an axe at one end can be knocked into the ground to a depth of 1 ft 6” (45cm) for 5ft (60cm) posts or less and 2ft (60cm) for 8ft (2.40m) posts. The posts are spaced in a straight line at ideally no more than 12”. The Hazel rods are then woven in-between or attached decoratively using nails.
- Wattle hurdle: A portable screen traditionally used for penning sheep.
How to make a hurdle
Before you can start to weave Hazel it is necessary to have a mould to construct the hurdle on.
A mould is a slightly curved piece of timber approximately 9ft long, 12” (30cm)wide and 4” (10cm) or more thick with 10 holes each spaced at approximately 10” (25cm). The mould holds upright hazel rods that the horizontal Hazel rods are woven into. The mould is slightly curved so that once the hurdle has been made and stacked away to season the natural process of flattening, tightens the woven material.
The uprights consist of two Shores which are strong whole Hazel rods at least 1.5” (3.75cm) thick and placed at each end. The uprights in between are known as Sails and consist of riven rods. Riven material is used because it is lighter than whole rods and makes what little material you may have, go further.
The uprights are traditionally about 4ft (1.20m) high. The Shores are a few inches longer than the sails allowing the hurdles to be knocked into the ground when put to use.
When the Shores and sails are standing within the mould, whole round rods are woven into the uprights at the bottom of the hurdle, up to approximately 6” (15cm). Next, riven hazel is woven through the remainder of the hurdle up to 6” from the top. The hazel is twisted around the shores at the ends and tucked into the weave to ensure the Shores remain tightly part of the frame. The remaining 6” (15cm) is woven using whole round rods. The purpose of using whole round rods at the top and bottom is to increase the strength and rigidity of the hurdle.