Fang the long-haired black cat has decided to integrate into the meadow colony. He is trying very hard to figure out how to deal with me as a human, meowing at me, and walking between my ankles (an irritating “trick” he learned from Mr Tom the cat). He has even begun to accept being brushed. He is looking much more put together lately, I suspect Shadow the other long-haired black cat has been helping (he helps Mr Tom too).
Yes, I now brush three long-haired outside cats.
Here are all the kinds cords I made laid side by side:
Apparently I can’t make charts in the app I use to write this blog, disappointing.
For i-cord, I found the knitting dolly gave the most even output, but if I needed long lengths quickly and didn’t care as much for the look or feel, I’d use a latch hook cord maker. If I needed a strong cord that wouldn’t stretch, I would weave it, but if I needed it long, I’d use a Lucet. If I wanted a spectacular demonstration of partner cord making, I’d do finger loop braiding. If I wanted something short but beautiful, I’d use a disc braider.
So each type of cord has its uses. My least favorite was crocheting an i-cord, but if crochet is what you are most comfortable with, it will work. In my tiny crochet days, I would slip stitch beaded rope, which in 30 minutes I would maybe make an inch!
The traditional way to make longer lengths of loop braiding is to work in pairs. One person holds the loops on their fingers and makes the move, the other person is at the opposite end of the yarn bundle and tightens the braid after each move. The method of tightening, by pushing with the blade of the hand, or pulling the strands out at right angles, makes a difference in braid density, and it takes some practice to get an even cord. It is handy as well to have another person helping for when the braider drops a loop. There are hiccups in the braid where I dropped a loop and accidentally added an extra twist.
I recruited my eldest to help me during a visit and we made 45 inches of braid in 30 minutes, which is more than I can make with a lucet in the same time.
At this point, I would choose the lucet method of cord making if I needed a long, strong, dense cord and I was working on my own. However, if I needed a known length, as for a belt or trim, and had access to help, the loop braiding is considerably faster and can make thicker cord.
When I am looking at an arrangement for my Barbershop chorus or quartet to sing, I look at the lows and highs for each part. I can’t keep the low note and the high note in my head and make changes while I read the chart, so I made something to help. I printed a piano keyboard, put it on my desk, and used figures to mark notes.
It amuses me that the closest markers I had to hand were a sheep and Minecraft figurine. There are actually several Minecraft figurines tucked around the house. I’m pretty sure there is a golden spider hanging out in a potted plant somewhere.
To test my theory that knit i-cord has the most options by varying yarn weight and needle size, I knit worsted weight cotton with size two needles, which are much smaller than recommended for the yarn.
As expected the cord comes out more dense and sturdy than cord knit with bigger needles. I only managed to make 10 inches of cord in 30 minutes. It has 20% stretch, which is 5% less than the i-cord knitted with size 8 needles. I’m a little disappointed that the difference in stretch isn’t more different.
Hm. Yes, I can vary stitch density by changing needle size, but I think I would choose another method if I needed a dense cord with less stretch.
In a world where you can be anything, be kind. Never forget.
Critters and Craft 