hsifeng | Putting the "Bang" on a Leash

We’re slowly by surely getting our gear together for the upcoming School of the Renaissance Solder (April 17^th – 19^th at Camp Tamarancho). Since the powderflasks are here and are ready to get finished, I need to start formulating my plan for their cording. I am gathering a few images together from the various sources I have found to try and get an idea of what cording style I should use.

This tag is for the two preceding above images:

I have no idea if the cord on this early 17th C horn is original or not. If it is, perhaps it shows that these cords were sometime flat braided? Or maybe the cord was simply braided differently in this section, making it flat. I believe this can be done with fingerloop and a couple of other styles:

And before you think it, no...we don't want *this* many tassles. Just a couple of smaller ones and perhaps one for use as a vent brush...

I can fingerloop, lucet and card-weave: However, I am not sure that the cords in the images above were produced with any of these methods – at least I have never managed to make a cord of that size, using thread/yarn elements that small. The cords made via Kumihimo seem to look more like the ones in the images, but what technique did Europeans use at this point in time that produced a cord of such thickness?

My initial thought is that I should card-weave a band about 1” – 1.5”, I could then stitch it into a cord (either around a core of an alternate material or not). This would leave me plenty of ‘tail strands’ to make the various fringe and tassel hangers that the images show. Then again, almost any cord weaving technique using multiple strands will do the same.

Anyone out there have any suggested techniques?

Of course, once I am done with this cording I will be starting on cording for the cartridges...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hi, I found this by following a back-link. There are some great images here! The top image (with the twisted look to the cord) appears to me to be a fingerloop braid - a two-person "lace bend". It looks very much like a twisted cord, such as you would find in modern curtain tie-backs, but the 'jagged' appearance usually points to the threads being interwoven.

Although there's really not enough detail to see, I'd say that all of these are fingerloop braided, with two (or perhaps even 3 people).

If you were going to something tablet woven, try a tubular weave as opposed to stitching it into a cord. This is the method found on seal tags, purse strings, and a tiny one for a rosary string. Basically, always put the weft thread through from the same side, not back and forth, drawing the weave into a tube. This is alot stronger (and if you were really worried about strength you could weave around a core thread, or thread one through afterwards, though I don't know of this historically).

In actual fact, a lucet or knitted cord probably isn't going to be strong enough - these are effectively only using one thread. If the thread breaks, the whole cord snaps or unravels. That's why a fingerloop braid in particular is used so often; having more elements it is stronger.

If you know cord-spinning, that is another quite viable option. It takes some practice, but it is very easy to get a nice thick cord.

Also, you don't need to worry about having lots of threads to form the tassel. All of these you've shown are multi-element tassels made separately using various passementerie techniques.

Oh, and re the Janet Arnold and kumihimo, alot of this is simply because of her date of publication and research known at the time. Only ten years ago it was thought that fingerloop braids could only be made with 7 loops, no more, but research and the discovery of manuscripts have changed that. However, the use of bobbins to make braids does seem to come into use around this period. There is an instruction to make a braid at the end of a fingerloop braiding manual from the 17th century (held in the V&A)using bone bobbins - this is a flat patterned braid, and yet uses a process in between fingerloop braiding and bobbin lace. With thought, most fingerloop braids can be made using bobbins (as lacemaking) as in both the elements are used in pairs. So, although similar to Japanese braiding (who also used FL btw)it seems to have developed somewhat differently/independently.

Sorry this comment is so long, do contact me if you need to! :)

I just got introduced to your site recently (through this topic) and I have to say that if you say it’s fingerloop I am going to believe it. *chuckle* I have never done more than a five loop braid, so this may take awhile to get the hang of (especially if I need to get someone else in on the trick…). In the meantime, I may well work out the tubular tablet weaving.

And don’t worry about long responses; I love when people give detailed answers. *grin* Thank you! In the end, you are giving me more ideas of cording options to look into for various projects: Almost everything needs a cord, you know!

Phew! Glad I didn't irritate you.

The lace bend for one person is perhaps the easiest of all the fingerloop braids.

Thanks for the compliment, but I have a lifetime left to learn, (and about 5 lifetimes TO learn) and within a year I might well find out something to change what I just told you! ;)

"....and within a year I might well find out something to change what I just told you! ;)"

I know this phenomenon first hand. *chuckle* Seems as there is always more to learn than there are hours in the day!

Putting the "Bang" on a Leash

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