Twined card: raffia

On By CarynIn Craft

Raffia palms grow in tropical regions of Africa and the leaves can be dried and torn into very long strips to create a natural ribbon. Raffia is a crafting staple, easily found in craft stores and floral departments. I ordered mine online and it came bundled and vacuum packed which gave it very crisp creases where I didn’t want creases. I used a steamer to straighten the strips, which worked extremely well.

Photo description: ironing board with steamer, a rubber banded bundle of raffia, and an open bundle after steaming (some bends still visible)

I could absolutely twine the raffia without steaming it, but the bends make an awful tangle, so it was useful to use the steam to make fiber management easier.

Photo description: laser cut flat wood spool with raffia twine

I use raffia to teach twining because it is readily available, you can twine for a long time before having to add in fiber, and it is sturdy. I made a simple two knot sliding bracelet and wore it for a week where it got wet and dried several times and it held up to the wearing. Raffia is used to make hats and bags and mats and can even be woven to make clothes. Here is a fascinating article.

Twined card: sunflower

On By CarynIn Craft

Next up for the twinging example cards is sunflower fiber. This is a long line bast fiber from the stalks of sunflowers. For me, this sunflower fiber feels similar to flax in length, fiber thickness, and when I twine it. It has a beautiful golden luster as well.

Photo description: laser cut flat wood spool with twine made from sunflower bast fiber, laying on a bed of uncombed sunflower fiber

I used this sunflower fiber, along with a length of grape vine, to finish my okra and sugar cane basket.

Photo description: in process: loop of grapevine bound to the top loops of an okra and sugar cane basket with sunflower twine
Photo description: “Crops basket” small looped basket made from okra fiber, sugar cane fiber, grape vine, and sunflower fiber

It is a surprisingly sturdy little basket that does have some flexibility, but can stand on its own. It pleased me that I was able to make it from the discard parts of commercial food crops, hence the name “Crops basket”.

Twined card: deer sinew

On By CarynIn Craft

I was gifted some deer sinew from a local hunter to make my next twine example. I used a little bit of water to moisten the dried sinew to make it pliable, and oh is it pliable. I could put more twist in this than any other fiber I’ve worked with before it started to ply back on itself.

Photo description: twining deer sinew using a small bowl of water for my fingertips, dried sinew shown upper left

The collagen powder from the sinew made for sticky work, and I had to change out my bowl of water frequently, but the sinew is really, really strong, and very stretchy when damp. I did tear the sinew sections apart, but chose to make a thicker twine for this example. Sinew can be separated farther and twined very thin to use as sewing thread. When dry, the twine is hard until it is worked. I made an extra inch of twine past the card, knotting it on either side to test flexibility, and while it was wet it was rubbery, then dry it was hard and stiff, but once I bent and twisted it, it became flexible, but still very strong. It is easy to see why this material has been used as binding since before recorded history.

Photo description: finished deer sinew twine card

Twined card: sugar cane

On By CarynIn Craft

One of the other fibers I purchased from Conserving Threads was sugar cane, which has a very similar look and feel to the okra stalk fiber, but was in finer strands. I let this fiber rehydrate overnight in a damp towel and twined it at the same thickness as I did for the okra stalk.

Photo description: laser cut flat wood spool with twined sugar cane stalk

After I finished my twined card for the sugar cane, I twined the rest into the basket I started with okra twine. To keep the sides as even as possible, I used a glass cylindrical vase as a form to guide my loops.

Photo description: twined okra stalk and twined sugar cane stalk used to make a looped basket on a cylindrical vase form

I’m quite pleased with how closely the okra twine and sugar cane twine match in size, color, and sturdiness. Because the twine is robust but flexible, the looped basket holds shape, even when off the form and turned right side up.

Now to figure out a way to finish the top edge.

Twined card: okra stalk

On By CarynIn Craft

I purchased okra stalk fiber from the Conserving Threads shop on Etsy. This is a thick papery plant material, so to make it more pliable for twining I wrapped it in a damp towel overnight. The cordage I was able to twine is strong and sturdy, but rough.

Photo description: okra stalk fiber twined onto a laser cut flat wood spool laying on a pile of damp okra stalk

I put the entire bundle of fiber in the damp towel, but I didn’t need it all for the example card. Rather than drying out the extra, I decided to twine it and make a looped basket.

Photo description: beginning of a twined simple loop basket made from okra stalk

Using all the rest of the okra stalk in my bundle made a rather shallow basket, so I think I will supplement with another material.

Photo description: okra stalk basket after several rows of looping