FUN WITH STRING
By the same Author FUN
THE
COSTUME
WITH
STRING
FUN
WITH
PAPER
FUN
WITH
BOXES
BOOK
FOR
PARTIES
AND
PLAYS
FUN WITH STRINGA collection of string games, useful braiding & weaving, knot work &. magic with string and rope
by JOSEPH LEEMING Illustrated by Charles E. Pont
NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY 1940
COPYRIGHT, 1940, BY JOSEPH LEEMING All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.
Published September 20, 19+1 Second Printing, March 11, 1941
Designed by CHARLES E. PONT
Printed in the United States of America
FOREWORD EACH and every one of us sees or uses pieces of string nearly every day. There are very few, however, who have been initiated into the wonderland of fascinating things that can be done and made with this commonplace article of daily use. Once one does discover the different things that can be made and the games that can be played with string, a new world is opened up. Anyone who once contracts a genuine case of "string fever" will have little difficulty in amusing himself or interesting others. Time will rarely hang heavy on his hands, as long as a piece of string is available. Some of the string crafts, such as square knot work, weaving, and braiding, will provide some interested readers, it is hoped, with a life-long hobby. Square knot work, in particular, with which an almost unlimited number of designs can be produced by combining the different methods of knotting, is one of the most fascinating of all the handicrafts, and one that is as yet but little known or practiced in this country. It is believed that this represents the first attempt that has been made to gather together in a single volume all, or nearly all, of the various crafts, games, knots, and other occupations and pastimes that involve the use of string. Heretofore this information has been scattered throughout numerous books, a number of which have not been published or been generally available in the United States. The author hopes most sincerely that the collection presented in this volume will afford its readers, both young and old, many happy hours of interest and entertainment. JOSEPH LEEMING.
CONTENTS PAGE
Foreword
v MAGIC WITH STRING AND ROPE
The Dissolving String Hand in Pocket The Two Captives The Cut and Restored String (1) The Cut and Restored String (2) The Magic Loops Fingers and Thumbs The Nose and String Trick The Ring and String Trick The Scissors and String Trick The String in the Buttonhole The Dissolving Knot The Laced Fingers The String through the Fingers The Magically Tied Knot The String and Straw Trick String from Nowhere Through the Fingertips The Ring Magically Knotted on a String The Vanishing Knots The Knotted Rope The Decapitation Rope Trick The Dissolving Loops The Chevalier Rope Escape The Bound-wrist Rope Escape The Thumb-tie Escape The Great Chair Escape The Neck and Knee Rope Tie The Behind-the-Back Rope Tie Dissolving Knots
vii
1 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 9 10 10 11 12 14 14 15 16 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 23 24 25 26 26
viii
CONTENTS PAGE
The Twentieth-Century Rope Tie The Chair Rope Tie
27 28
KNOTS, SPLICES, AND FANCY KNOT WORK
Knots Elementary Knots Half Hitch Overhand Knot Figure-eight Knot Stevedore's Knot Knots for Joining Two Ropes Together Square Knot or Reef Knot Granny Surgeon's Knot Sheet Bend, Weaver's Knot, or Becket Bend Double Sheet Bend Becket Hitch Heaving Line Bend Carrick Bend Hawser Bend or Half Hitch and Seizing Bend Reeving Line Bend Bowline Bend Fisherman's Knot or Englishman's Knot Double Fisherman's Knot Knots for Securing Ropes to Rings or Spars Clove Hitch Timber Hitch Timber Hitch and Half Hitch Two Half Hitches Killick Hitch Rolling Hitch Magnus Hitch Lifting Hitch or Well-pipe Hitch Fisherman's Bend or Anchor Bend
30 30 30 30 31 31 31 31 31 31 32 32 32 32 33 33 33 33 33 33 34 34 34 34 35 35 35 35 35 36
CONTENTS
ix PAGE
Studdingsail Halyard Bend Studdingsail Tack Bend or Topsail Sheet Bend Slippery Hitch Lark's Head Treble Lark's Head Catspaw Blackwall Hitch Bill Hitch Knots Used to Make a Loop or Noose Bowline Bowline on a Bight Spanish Bowline Double Bowline Running Bowline Slip Knot, Slip Noose, or Running Knot Crabber's Eye Knot or Crossed Running Knot Buntline Hitch Fisherman's Eye Knot or True Lover's Knot Half Hitch and Seizing Midshipman's Hitch The Clinch Outside Clinch Inside Clinch Hackamore, Jar Sling, or Jug Sling Masthead Knot or Jury Knot Tomfool Knot Shamrock Knot or Japanese Masthead Knot Artillery Knot or Man-harness Knots Used for Shortening a Rope Sheepshank Man-of-War Sheepshank or Knotted Sheepshank Overhand Knot for Shortening a Sling Ornamental and Other Knots Three-Strand Turk's Head Four-Strand Turk's Head
26 36 35 35 36 37 37 37 37 37 38 38 39 39 39 39 40 40 40 40 40 41 41 42 42 43 43 43 43 43 45 45 45 45 45
x
CONTENTS PAGE
English Diamond Knot Monkey's Fist Crown Knot Wall Knot and Double Wall Knot Wall and Crown Knot Double Wall and Crown or Man-rope Knot Matthew Walker Knot Double Matthew Walker Knot Lanyard Knot Diamond Knot Whipping and Seizing Whipping Seizing Round Seizing Flat Seizing Racking Seizing Splicing Short Splice Long Splice Eye Splice How to Make a Grommet Square-knot Work How Square-knot Work Is Done Making Successive Rows Pointing Square-knot Work Flats Spiral Formations Open Mesh Work Half-Hitch Work Length of Strands Tension Hooks Square-knot Belts Square-knot Shade Pulls Square-knot Neckties Square-knot Centerpiece Square-knot Handbag
47 47 4g 49 49 49 49 50 50 50 50 50 51 51 51 51 52 52 52 53 53 54 54 56 56 57 51 57 58 60 60 61 62 63 64 66
CONTENTS NETTING AND SIMPLE KNOT-WORK
A Netted Cord Hammock A Tennis Net Knotted Bags A Portiere A Tied or Knotted Cord Hammock A Fish Net
xi PAGE
68 72 74 77 78 81
USEFUL THINGS MADE FROM ROPE AND STRING
Clothes-rope Rugs Spool Knitting Watch-chains Made of String Flat Plaited Cord Belts How to Cut a String without Knife or Scissors A Rope Tree Climber An Anti-slam Device Wrought Mats Indian Belts How to Make and Throw a Lariat Weaving A Cardboard Loom for Weaving A Hand-woven Bag Hand-woven Mats A Doll's Hammock A Circular Mat and Tam-o'-Shanter Tablet Weaving Daisy Mats A Pillow Top (See also articles made in Square-knot work on pages 54 to 68.)
84 87 89 91 92 93 94 95 96 101 103 104 105 107 108 109 110 114 116
BRAIDING
Braiding Simple Three-Strand Braiding Three-Strand Solid Braiding
117 118 118
xii
CONTENTS PAGE
Four-Strand Spiral Braiding Four-Strand Square Braiding Four-Strand Round Braiding Four-Strand Braiding over Double Strands Flat Braiding with Five or More Strands Eight-Strand Round Braiding Round Braiding over a Band Braided Bracelets and Rings A Braided Dog Leash A Braided Whistle Lanyard Braided Jute Yarn Sandals Rugs Made of Braided Jute Yarn
119 120 121 123 123 124 125 126 128 130 131 132
STRING GAMES AND FIGURES
String Games and Figures General Instructions A Fish Spear An Outrigger Canoe Man on a Bed Carrying Wood The Caribou An Eskimo House and Two Eskimos Running Away The Tern A Man Climbing a Tree An Apache Door The Fighting Headhunters The Leashing of Lochiel's Dogs The Setting Sun Osage Indian Diamonds Bagobo Diamonds The Sea-cow or Dugong Cheating the Hangman The Sawmill
135 137 139 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 147 148 150 151 153 154 155 157 158
Bibliography
161