More skills to learn! (unless your planning to live still in a city appartment)
Back in a previous post, I ran out of string and used natural things to make string. Then it I thought that I may aswell learn how to it properly!
Making string/twine from bamboo like leaves..
First I took the leaves I would be using Above and layed them out. I wanted to learn also, how to splice bits together to make however much twine you need in one piece.
Take a piece and find the middle of it, this will be the start point of the string. Hold the middle with the left hand and start to twist it until it kinks. The kink is the starting of the string, and you need to hold it with your left hand.
The next stage is to twist the part furthest away from you towards your body and when it has become tight, you take both pieces and twist them away from you.
This is how it looks after turning both pieces together away from you
After a few times of repeating the same method, twisting the piece furthest away towards you until tight, and then twisting both pieces together away from you, this happens as shown Below
.. Its easy to see how the string or twine is taking shape!
When you run out of leaf, its time to splice in a new one. Its sounds harder than it is, but all you need to do is take your next piece and lay it onto the remaining part that is running short and carry on as before.
And this is how it looks on the ends, Im ready to splice in another piece.
By splicing, you can make it however long you want!
Rope, made from grass.
Atleast in most countries you can find long wild grass, and shockingly enough its easy to make a thick rope (much easier than string.)
Its best to cut the grass at as long as possible lengths and to let it dry out 48 hours. There was some already cut and dried from a while ago, but if there wasn't, I would have practiced with fresh grass.
Take a bunch and straighten it together, and the bunch should be half as thin as you want the rope to be at the end. In the pic above, I have two pieces in preparation to use when its time to splice.
We do the same as making twine, fold the bunch in half to find the center, and that point there is the start of the rope formed. Its much easier with grass, the only difference is that the grass wont kink natually so you have to fold it instead.
Just start twisting one part in each hand, and both in the direction towards you, and it starts forming rope by itself.
Splicing
Is also the same method as the string, adding on the same amount as was there before. If one part is thinner than the other, then the thicker part will try to keep going straight leaving the thinner part to fall loosly around it.
With this piece on my lap that had a few splices in it to make it quite long, it was easily able to be used to pick a 11 year old up off the ground!
To finish off the rope just to tidy it up, give it a trim with a knife to make it look more like modern day rope..
Even Tarzan would be proud! This is how it looked at the end..
I need to go help set up where the band will play, and have a tidy up washing up. Autonomy only works on voluntaryism so lets never be lazy
