[Growster...]

Several years ago, I used to buy most of our gardening stuff from the ironmongers here in the village - now sadly closed.

When I used to go there for - say - one small packet of seeds, I used to come out with about a dozen packets of seeds, a new set of spanners, a stainless steel wrench and a gallon of white paint, because Peter was such a great guy, and also, of course, a good salesman!

One item he did always stock though has got me slightly stuck.

I wanted a ball of garden twine, and of course, he had several sizes of twine ranging from the small cottage garden to a twenty-acre small-holding...

And he called the average sized ball I bought, a ball of 'Phyllis' (or maybe 'Fillis')!

I've tried to find out where the name came from, and may be missing the obvious, but has anyone else ever heard ordinary garden twine called by this name?

[joyfull]

It is fillis and can be bought as 3 or 4 ply jute fillis 

[joyfull]

it also seems to come in 5 ply as per this advert

[arugula]

Oh yes I have a huge ball of that, actually I wouldn't describe this thing as a ball, more of a drum? I used to use it for macrame and don't do that any more. It comes in very handy as garden twine. I'm afraid I don't know where the name comes from, as you asked, Growster.

[joyfull]

it would seem that the green is called green twist and the natural jute fillis. Fillis is also an old name - probably a variation of Phyllis.

[grendel]

maybe the ropery at chatham dockyard could help with the name origin.
Grendel

[RichardA]

maker nutscene allege that greentwist and jute fillis are both trademarks suggesting it is an inventor's  given name and not traditional
R

[RichardA]

Definition of fillis

from oxford dictionary - from "filasse"
 noun
[mass noun] British
loosely twisted string, used especially for tying up plants.




Origin:

 early 20th century: from French filasse 'tow'

[RichardA]

sorry did not finish -- finasse is old french for  "natural fibre" as is tow in old english so the string is a natural fibre of jute product. Incidentally I think phyllis means green leaf -- link ?
R

[Growster...]

Aaaw now, thanks to everyone here!

My great big Chambers Dictionary didn't know the answer, and as there are several possible spellings, even Gurgle spluttered a bit too!

Great response from everyone, and at least I'm not going mad imagining things which never happened... (yet...)

Thanks again!

We have a woven carpet, which we didn't like very much after a while, and it unravels into the best garden FILLIS we've ever had (huh, y'know what it means now Growster, dontcha...bit smart are ya...), and the long winter evenings just fly by, getting the strands off and winding them on a stick...

[arugula]

I'm still going to call it jute string. 

[Growster...]

Actually, another memory springs to mind...

When I brought the ball home, and showed Mrs Growster, she said she'd never heard it called that either, but was more than miffed when I spent the rest of the week-end wandering round the garden, tying things up, and making up rhymes which all included 'Phyllis', or similar...

Then I realised that some of our neighbours might be called that, and so Mrs G put an embargo on me ever mentioning the name outside the Turrets!

(In fact our neighbours were Margaret, Nancy and another Margaret, so I was on safe ground thank goodness...;0)

[arugula]

I can envisage a whole new thread on inanimate objects with female (or male) names....

[Growster...]

I can envisage a whole new thread on inanimate objects with female (or male) names....

Are you thinking of asking me to do this Arugula...?

;0)

[arugula]

Not particularly....