Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Making Cordage Part 2: The Three Strand Braid

This post will go over a different method of cordage making. Many of the same principles will remain in effect. If you have not seen Part 1, you can check it out here.

Take three strands of rope. Make sure they are of different lengths for purposes of extending the rope.

Tie the end of all three strands together.

Take two of the strands, and cross them over. The third strand will be left to the side.

Now take the strand that was previously left tot he side, and cross it OVER the nearest strand. Now a different strand will be left to the side.

Take the new strand that was left to the side, and cross it with the nearest strand.

Repeat the process until you end up with the desired length of rope. Of course this is done with all three strands being held in your hands, and can be done fairly quickly. I have placed the cordage on the table so it is easier to see. The cordage can be extended by adding additional fibers as shown in Part 1.

Here is the piece of cordage made in Part 1, compared to the piece made with the new method.