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making cordage (a tutorial of sorts)

9/25/2018

 
Picture
Bearded Iris leaves and cordage
There have been a number of questions
about the specifics of making cordage.
Picture
It's a pretty elemental process
and as I said last week,

I'm only just beginning
 my research and experiments--
but since you asked,
here a jumping off point for yours.

FYI -- Youtube isn't a bad place for further research.

Thigh spinning videos can be helpful,
and there are also any number of young men
​eager to explain how to make cordage--
usually as part of a general survival strategy
for the next time you happen to find yourself in the wilderness
with nothing but a pocket knife
(and the requisite testosterone).

As it turns out, however,
a person only need her hands--
​

​though a pair of snips can be useful.

Picture
Actually the process is so elemental
that it seems absurd
to have 16 photos and a video
to show the process.
But oh well....
​No time for brevity.
Picture
Anyway --
Gather some leaves**
and get them nice and damp.
You can do this by dumping a bundle in:
-a handy babbling brook impersonator (see photos above),
-your leftover bath water
-an actual babbling brook.
​
Rolling them in a wet towel also works well, 
as does gathering after a rain.

**Iris are satisfyingly strong
Daylily is fun to say (and the leaves can be long)
Narcissus are fragile, narrow and a lovely color
Corn husks are short, plentiful,  strong and dye beautifully.
Other plants await...

Picture
Even when I've soaked them in a creek (real or pretend),
it has been helpful to wrap the leaves in a damp towel
and let them sit for an hour or three
to even out the moisture content.
Picture
Picture
Then I tear wide leaves into strips
to control the evenness of the cordage.
Picture
To begin,
​Fold one strip (or leaf) --
but not in half.
Picture
Grab the fold with one hand,
the further strand with the other,
and twist it (the further strand) away from your body.
Picture
Cross the twisted far strand over the near strand
making it (the near strand)
the new far one.
Twist the new far strand.
​Cross over.
​Repeat.

​You are now spinning and plying at the same time.
Picture
When you get close to the end of a leaf strip,
or they start becoming too thin,
add a new strip 
by tucking it into the V 
(you can leave a bit sticking out and snip it off later).
Twist the new strip with whichever strip it is joining/replacing.
​
​Here is a Video -- I hope.
Please pardon the bathtub drain sounds --
the brook impersonator by where I was working
is about to be dismantled for winter so is missing its babbilator.
Working with a number of strands,
each of which begins and ends in a different place,
determines color, thickness and strength of the finished cordage.
Picture
So with the same materials
you can make something
fine enough for a fishing net,
or  a rope on which you can cross a bottomless chasm. 
​Not bad for a few dead leaves. 

Of course I haven't tried either of these things as yet,
and expect there are a few nuances I'm missing,
but do let me know if you try them
and how they work.
Picture
Back in the studio,
where the bottomless chasms are metaphors
and I am fortunate enough to have a variety of cutting tools,
I usually lop off the sticky outey bits as i go.
Picture
Then,
when I run out of leaves
 or time
or energy
or the cordage is just perfect,
​I stop. 
Picture


Patti Kirch
9/25/2018 03:15:07 pm

Handspun wetted linen warp and dried leaves cordage weft ... autumn days in the Palouse.

Velma Bolyard link
9/25/2018 04:10:33 pm

Yes! I like the false brook soundtrack, too. I often have to augment with spit, mother spit is, as you know, particularly efficacious. But, honestly, rainwater should be lovely, too.

NancyB
9/26/2018 12:04:44 am

You might have just saved the clump of Montbretia from certain uprooting! And it's been raining all night. Perfect conditions for an experiment.

Velma Bolyard
9/26/2018 06:34:57 am

I've been thinking about these leaf fibers that are good for papermaking... of course you cook out the "gunk" (or some of it) that holds the cellulose fibers together and what's left is fiber for paper. There is usually color and texture interest. The leaf fibers behave so differently from seed fibers or bast fibers as paper pulp, might that correlate to cordability?

Lin link
9/26/2018 11:07:00 am

Beautiful demonstration, Sarah. And, once you've made your cordage, what to do with it? What about coiled basketry??

Sarah
9/26/2018 01:05:24 pm

Hi Lin --
Coiled basketry is a common way to use cordage, but if you check out the previous two blog posts you can see mine in action...

Kate
9/30/2018 04:09:53 pm

Once you've made some cordage, do you let it dry & then re-dampen it when you're ready to use it? Or is it pliable enough to use as is? I gathered some dead leaves on my walk yesterday to try this; but don't want to use it in the piece currently on the loom. Thanks again for the pics & video; it was very clear!

Sarah
10/9/2018 05:46:08 pm

Yes- drying and re-dampening is definitely the order of the day. Check out the previous post for more on this!


Comments are closed.
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    ​Sarah C Swett 
    tells stories
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