Never done it myself other than as a very bad childhood experience. So for me it wouldn't be worth the suffering. :-)

But I did find several how-to articles on the web (linked below). But from browsing through them it seems it is just lots of labor intensive picking (with gloves and long sleeved shirts to avoid the sting burn).

Here is a link that might be useful: How to harvest nettles

Be sure to wash well with soap and water as soon as possible.

digdirt: Thanks. I'll look into them. But properly I'll limit myself to thee then.

Cecil - you need to pick them early in the year when they are no more than about 25cm tall. Wear gloves and pick the whole stems. At that time of year you will probably be wearing thick clothes anyway! You do not need to remove the leaves if the plants are young and tender. Later in the year they are too tough and fibrous. It is too late to pick nettles for eating now unless you can find a patch which has been cut back and has regrown. A kilo of leaves will make a huge amount of soup! This recipe only needs 400 g. It does say to pick off the leaves but I don't bother since you are going to blend the soup anyway. I would not wash them in soup and water either , just thoroughly rinse in water. I don't see how you could ever get the taste of soap off them and presumably you will be picking them from a place you know has not been sprayed.

(BTW - 'tea'.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Nettle soup