Many arts are lost to time. One of these is that of the production of ribbon rope. long ago native American weavers would make strong rope and snares using native plant fibers. The western version of this would be that of the bastard which in its literal usage is a maker of fiber rope. Whether one is lost in the woods or merely needs some rope this technique is still very important. n North American there are many plants whose fibers are ideal for the making of rope. One of these is that of the basswood whose name derives from its fibrous inner bark. First one must find and identify one of these trees. They are ironically one of the easiest trees to identify. Look on the banks of rivers for a green-barked tree whose leaves are very large and heart-shaped. This is the common basswood or the Tilia Europaea.

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[edit] Steps

Take a knife and make a vertical incision about four feet long down its trunk. Make another incision parallel to your last one, the distance these lines are apart determines how wide and strong your rope will be.
Cut two lines to connect both of your former cuts, one at the very bottom and one at the very top.
Dig your fingernail into the top of your uppermost horizontal slice. Make sure the vertical cuts are very deep or you will not be able to pull the inner bark away from the tree.
Pull this strip of material off the tree.
Flip this material over to reveal a wet shiny layer.
Remove the wet shiny part from the green outer bark then hold a piece of thin slightly translucent material that is ideal for rope, snares, and even climbing if woven.

[edit] Tips

By widening the strip you can make your rope stronger but easier to tear. the ideal width is either 1/4 inch or 3mm depending on usage.
This material can be woven with five other strips to form one of the best bowstrings money can buy.
Basswood belts can be highly flexible as well as strong.
A basswood strip wide enough can be used in conjunction with spider web to create the perfect woodland bandage. Beware however, basswood does not breath so be sure to give the wound air or else it will fester.

[edit] Warnings

This material is very weak horizontally and can easily tear crossway's, however its pull strength is next to none. Do not use as climbing rope unless you have been trained to successfully weave the said rope, there is much involved.