CHAPTER IV

KNOTS WITH RAFFIA AND CORD

Sailors' knots are of course fascinating to boys, but why should not girls enjoy making them, too? Think of the dolls' hammocks, the work bags and twine ball nets one can make, and think of being able to tie a good, square knot--one that will hold--instead of the "granny knots" that brothers and boy cousins laugh at!

Of course you know how to tie the simplest knot of all--the one shown in Fig. 21. Let us call it the loop knot, for it is made by tying the ends of a strand together to form a loop. You have used it often for that purpose, I am sure, and sometimes to tie two pieces of string together. You can make a pretty and useful sponge bag of raffia in the natural colour with this knot. The wet sponge will not hurt the raffia, and in such an open bag the air soon dries it.

_Knotted Sponge Bag_

=Materials Required:= 25 strands of raffia, A length of No. 5 rattan, A tapestry needle.

Roll a length of No. 5 rattan into a ring, as described on page 38, so that it can be soaked in warm water till it is pliable. Cut it into three pieces, each forty-seven inches long. Tie an end of one of these pieces into a ring seven inches in diameter and twist the long end in and out once around this (see Fig. 22). At the end of this row the ends, where they meet, should overlap an inch. If they are longer, cut them off with a slanting cut and tie them tightly together with a piece of raffia. Two more rings, the same size as the first one, are made with the other pieces of rattan. Hang one of the rings where you can reach it easily, on a low bedpost, for example. Double a strand of raffia and tie it through the ring as shown in Fig. 21, drawing the knot up quite close. Twenty-two strands are knotted on in this way. Space them along the ring about an inch apart, and, beginning with any pair of strands, tie the right-hand one with the nearest strand of the next pair on the right, making an even mesh at an inch from the first row of knots. Continue this all around the ring, when you will have made one row. Ten more rows are knotted in this way. Then bring the ends of all the strands straight down together and tie them below the centre of the ring with a piece of raffia. The ends are cut off evenly at about two inches and a half from where they were tied, to form a tassel.

The two other rings are used for the handles of the bag. Lay one of them against the ring at the top of the bag so that the places where the rings are tied will come together. Thread a tapestry needle with raffia and bind the rings together with buttonhole stitch for an inch. Then sew through and through the binding to make it secure and cut the end close to the ring. The other ring handle is bound to the opposite side of the top ring in the same way.

_A Doll's Hammock_

=Materials Required:= 14 strands of raffia, A tapestry needle.

Even simpler to make than the sponge bag is a doll's hammock of raffia. It is knotted in just the same way.

Lay twelve strands of raffia evenly together. Bend them to find the middle, or "middle them," as the sailors say. Lay the short end of another piece of raffia on the middle of the twelve strands, with its tip turning toward the left, and wind the long end round and round from right to left, binding them together for two and three-quarter inches. Bring the two ends of this binding together to form a loop, wind a strand of raffia tightly around them (see Fig. 23), and tie the ends securely. You will then have twenty-four ends to knot together, two and two, as the knots in the bag were made. Pin the loop on the cushion of a chair or tie it to a low hook or to the doorknob, so that you can pull the strands taut. The first row of knots is tied about two inches from the loop and after that the rows are only an inch apart. The finishing of the edge of the hammock is of course different from the bag.

It is done in this way: In starting the second row of knots the left strand in the first pair is of course left untied, and, after knotting the row across, the right strand of the last pair is also left free. When the third row is started the loose strand on the left side of the hammock is knotted in with the left one in the first pair of strands in this row (see Fig. 24). In other words, the strands which are left untied at each side of the hammock when the second, fourth, sixth and all the even numbered rows have been knotted, are tied in with the outside strands in the next uneven numbered row. To make a hammock for a little doll thirteen rows of knotting will be enough. When the last row has been tied bring the ends of the strands together, start a new strand at two inches from the last row of knots, and bind the ends together tightly for two and three-quarter inches to make a loop like the one at the other end. After the loop is finished cut the ends close to the binding, and with a tapestry needle threaded in the end of the binding strand sew it through and through, to secure it, and cut its end close to the binding.

_How to Tie a Square or Reef Knot_

Once upon a time a little girl was carrying a bundle of cookies by the string, when suddenly the knot slipped and the cookies rolled in every direction, over the sidewalk and into the street. If the baker's wife had known how to tie a square knot instead of that useless "granny," the accident would never have happened. I wonder if you have ever had an experience of this kind. If so, I am sure you will like to learn how to tie the ends of a piece of string together so that they cannot slip.

Take the ends of a piece of string, one in each hand. Cross them and bring the upper end down under the long end of the other piece (see Fig. 25). Now turn it back in the opposite direction above the first part of the knot, to make a loop, and pass the other end down through it (see Fig. 26). In this way each end of the string will come out beside its own beginning.

_Two Hitches_

There is no simple knot that you will find more useful than the half hitch. It is described in the directions for making the game of Floor Baseball in Chapter II. Two of these half hitches, side by side, are called by sailors a "clove hitch." In making nets this clove hitch is used to attach the first row of meshes to the top line or head rope, as it is called.

Another use for the half hitch is in the process that sailors call "kackling" (see Fig. 27). This is used to prevent two ropes from rubbing against one another, or chafing. A beautiful handle for a basket or bag may be made with this knot.

Take two pieces of rope and some light cord, or, if it is to be the handle of a basket, two pieces of heavy rattan, No. 5, and some No. 00 rattan with which to do the knotting. If you use the rattan be sure to soak it for ten minutes in warm water and choose a soft piece of the fine rattan for knotting. Hold the heavy pieces of rattan side by side, lay an end of the fine rattan upon them at the middle (see Fig. 28), with its tip turning toward the left, and hold it there with the left hand, while with the right you bring the long end up and around both of the large pieces of rattan up and under the short end of the fine piece. It is then brought down and around the two large pieces of rattan and the end is passed down through the loop made in starting the hitch (see Fig. 29). Draw the tying strand up tight and bring the long end up and around the large pieces of rattan and up under the loop it left in starting (see Fig. 30). Take care to keep the fine rattan wet so that it will be very pliable; if it dries it will surely crack as you tie it.

_Net Making_

If you would like to make a ping-pong net or a net for crabbing, you will find it quite easy to do and very interesting. After you have made these small nets you may feel like trying a tennis net if you have plenty of time and patience.

At a hardware store you can buy tightly twisted cord of the size you wish to use in making your net. It is generally sold by weight. If you are planning to make a ping-pong or tennis net you will also need a heavy piece of cord for the head rope. A crab net would of course be netted on to an iron ring attached to a long wooden handle. A needle such as is shown in Fig. 31 may be made quite easily by any boy who can whittle.

When you have wound your cord on the needle, stretch the head rope taut between two convenient points, the backs of two chairs, for example, and begin at the left by tying one end of the cord to it. Make a loop the size you wish the mesh to be and fasten the cord to the head rope with a clove hitch, or two half hitches (see Fig. 32). When you have worked as far as you wish, get on the other side of the net and work back again. This row of meshes and all that follow after are made by fastening them to the upper row with a sheet bend (see Fig. 32). After the second row is finished come around to the other side again and knot the third row. When the net is wide enough knot it to a piece of rope the size of the head rope with a row of clove hitches.

_The Weaver's Knot_

In weaving bead chains on a loom, and in doing other things, you will often need to tie a new piece of thread or cord to a very short end. The weavers have a knot they use for this purpose, and as it is a simple one perhaps you would like to learn it. Hold the old end in a vertical position (that is, as if it were standing up), lay the new piece back of it, its short end turning toward the left and reaching an inch or more beyond the vertical thread. Bring the long end around in front of the vertical thread, up back of its own short end on the left and across in front of the vertical thread (see Fig. 33). All these threads are held in position by the fingers and thumbs of the left hand, while the right hand brings the thread around. The vertical or old end is now turned down through the loop in front of it and there held by the thumb, while with the fingers of both hands the long and short ends of the new thread are pulled up tight.

_Turk's Head_

There is a beautiful knot called by sailors a "Turk's head." Girls will find that they can make the prettiest buttons imaginable with it, using silk cord of any colour, and both boys and girls will enjoy making napkin rings of rattan with a more open arrangement of the same knot.

To make a button take a yard of cord, and at about four inches from one end bend it into a loop (like the one shown in Fig. 34), about half an inch across. The long end should come above the short one. Next make a second loop lying above and to the left of the first one (see Fig. 35), bringing the long end under the short one left in starting. The long end is then brought over the left side of the second loop, under the left side of the first loop, over the right side of the second loop, under the right side of the first and around to the beginning, inside of the short end (see Fig. 36). This makes one row, or the beginning of the button. If you have a bodkin with a large eye, the long end of the cord can be threaded into it and this will make the work easier. The next row follows the first one exactly--close to it and always on the inside. When the cord has followed in this way four times, to complete four rows (keeping the button form always in mind and moulding the cord into that shape), a firm little button will have been made.

_Napkin Ring_

=Material Required:= 1 length of No. 4 rattan.

With a piece of rattan in the natural colour or a length of coloured rattan you can make a useful and very pretty napkin ring by following the directions just given, with only one change. In beginning the second row (shown in Fig. 36), the long end is brought to the left or outside of the short end and continues around on that side. Five rows may be made instead of four. Keep the ring form in mind all the time, have the rattan wet and pliable and mould it into the shape of a ring, keeping the top and bottom as nearly the same size as possible.

_Green Raffia Work Bag_

=Materials Required:= A bunch of green raffia, A length of No. 5 green rattan, A tapestry needle.

_A Tapestry Needle_

When your mother was a little girl her mother used to make with linen twine a kind of coarse, heavy lace called macramé. One of the knots she used was called "Solomon's knot," and that is the one you will use if you decide to make this work bag. A length of No. 4 rattan and a bunch of raffia, both in a soft shade of green, will be needed. These you can buy of a dealer in basket materials for a few cents. Twist three rings like those for the upper edge and handles of the sponge bag described in the first part of this chapter. Hang one of these rings on a low bedpost or on a hook placed so that you can reach it easily when seated. Take two strands of raffia, double them around the ring, and with the four ends thus made tie a Solomon's knot as follows: Hold the two upper strands straight and taut. Bend the under strand on the left across them to the right (see Fig. 37), and bring the under strand on the right over the end of the left strand, back of the middle strands and through the loop made by the left strand in starting. Another pair of strands is knotted on in the same way, and another, until there are twenty-two groups around the ring. Starting anywhere on the ring, the two strands on the right of a group are brought beside the two on the left of the next group to the right. The middle pair of these four strands are held straight down, while the strands on the right and left are tied upon them in a Solomon's knot. This knot should be half an inch from those in the first row. Make a double knot this time as follows: After tying the knot (shown in Fig. 37), take the end which is on the right after the first knot has tied, bring it over to the left, above the middle strands, and bring the one on the left down over the end of the strand which was on the right, back of the two middle strands and up through the loop left in starting the right strand (see Fig. 38). The whole row is made in this way. Ten rows are knotted, each one about half an inch from the row above. The bag is finished in the same way as the sponge bag, with a tassel and two handles. If you choose you can line it with silk of the same colour as the raffia, or, if it is to be used for a duster bag or to hold grandmother's knitting, it will not need a lining.

What a Child Can Do with Beads