Making Cordage with a Braiding Disk

[asemery]

This method of cordage making takes up very little room. It is a goood way to use gutted paracord strands to make especially strong small rope. you can vary the color and size of the threads used, use your imagination. If you can count to three you will have no problem with the braiding disk.
Take a square of cardboard and cut off the corners to make an octagon. I used the top of a pizza take out box and made a 4" square (size of square is not critical). Cut a 3/4" (again not ctitical) slit on center of each side of the octagon. Cut a hole in center of square. Take 7 strands of cord and tie overhand knot in one end.

Push overhand knot in center of hole and put one strand each in seven slits leaving the empty slit in the East (3 o'clock) position. Clip a light weight (bulldog clip) to the knot.

I find it easier to move the disk in a counter-clockwise direction but you can move the disk clockwiase as long as you are consistant. Count over 3 positions clockwise and take the cord there (red cord, south-west position) and move it up to the empty slot. Shift the disk counter-clockwise so the empty slot is in the East (3 o'clock) position.

That is all there to it. Count over three clockwise, move the cord there to the empty slot, and turn the disk so the empty slot is once again at the East.

Will bring us to here. When the white cord is moved to the empty slot the cords will once again be in the be starting order.

Continue in this manner until finished. Tie end in overhand knot.


You will get an unholy mess on your hands if you don't straiaghten out the cords from time to time

 

[asemery]

When you use 2 colors you can see the spiral pattern appear

 

[Harvestman]

Now that is very neat indeed. I like it.

 

[cranmere]

Look up "kumihimo" for more ornate braids.

 

[Toddy]

woods_man makes and sells the braiding discs at a very reasonable cost.

Tony ? have you ever tried fingerwalking ? The classic medieval instruction starts, "take seven bows". To us we tie a bow, to the medieval mind the bow was the loop at the end of a folded length of yarn.
I believe the Americans call it loopbraiding ?

It makes some truly beautiful and very useable braids with no need for either a marudai and bobbins or a braiding disc.

atb,
Mary

 

[mountainm]

Great stuff. I've only ever tried Lucet braiding bit may give this a go.

 

[British Red]

Okay thats remarkably cool - thank you!

 

[Clouston98]

Very clever! Nice one

 

[asemery]

Here is one project with the braiding disk. I started with almost 4' of threads to make a 1 foot usable length of cordage. In the middle of the 4' of the yarns I braided for about 2".

I folded the braid in half to form the loop and re-strung the braiding disk with doubled threads.

I braided until the ends got too short and ended up with a 1' long section of braid from end of loop to end of braid.

If the doubled cord is too thick you can thin it out. After the first few rounds you can start cutting one of the strands in each slot. Do this gradually maybe one cut every other round and the braid will thin out. The ends will be hidden in the braid.




You can make a very useful soft shackle with this braid. Tie a knot in the end and put the knot through the loop end. A very handy way to hang items from a belt or anywhere else.

 

[TarHeelBrit]

Great stuff. I've only ever tried Lucet braiding bit may give this a go.

You should try Kumihimo my wife loves it. I've just got a small Lucet and I'm having a go and lucet weaving, my problem (as I'm a newbie) is getting the tension right on every turn. I can make lucet cord but there a few loose turns.

 

[asemery]

Now that is very neat indeed. I like it.

Thank you

Look up "kumihimo" for more ornate braids.

That is a good suggestion. Kumihimo can be addictive.

Woodsman makes and sells the braiding discs at a very reasonable cost.


Tony ? have you ever tried fingerwalking ? The classic medieval instruction starts, "take seven bows". To us we tie a bow, to the medieval mind the bow was the loop at the end of a folded length of yarn.
I believe the Americans call it loopbraiding ?


It makes some truly beautiful and very useable braids with no need for either a marudai and bobbins or a braiding disc.


atb,
Mary

I have never tried loopbraiding, it sounds like something right up my alley. Thanks

Great stuff. I've only ever tried Lucet braiding bit may give this a go.

Thank you.

 

[woods_man]

Hi, this is the braiding wheel that Mary mentioned.

 

[Toddy]

I think Peter mentioned that he has limited stock left of the braiding discs....these are precision cut and I am happy to personally recommend them.
Probably best to pm him if interested.
He also makes the best tablets for tablet braiding too They don't do for 'historically accurate' sites, but for those who want to weave, they're brilliant.


Mary

 

[Quixoticgeek]

There is something believed to date from Viking times that is pretty much the same, I was introduced to it as "trollum weaving" or some such, I'm not certain how it's spelt. I made my wheel out of an off cut of leather, but I have also made them with card. It works really well, but you do have to make sure you keep the tension uniform throughout. It can be very therapeutic to just sit there braiding. I've mostly used some wax linen thread, as I happened to have 500m of it knocking about.

I have a pile of tablets next to me that I want to try and use for tablet weaving, I just haven't got around to working out how to thread them all up...

Julia