Page 495 - The Ashley Book of Knots

THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS

2954. Twist braid may be made in a single piece of leather and

is quite similar to 'II 2950. A leather strap is slit twice so that it has

three equal lengthwise parts in the center length, while the ends

remain uncut. Soak the leather in warm water before proceeding

with the braid.

Make a very tight THREE-STRAND PLAT in the upper end, starting

with the left strand and moving left and right strands alternately.

It will be found that a similar but reversed plat forms in the lower

end, and if the two ends are jerked sufficiently the two compen-

sating plats will ravel and disappear.

The upper plat should be held firmly in one hand while the lower

plat is worked out in the manner indicated in the second sketch. The

plat may be made in any length that is a multiple of six moves. The

strands are generally kept the same side up at the edges so that the

grain of the leather will remain uppermost.

2955. Theoretically FLAT SINNET, with any odd number of strands,

may be worked into twist braid in the way first described, but the

practical limit is perhaps five, or at most seven, leads. A section of

sinnet is completed each time a number of moves to the center has

been made that is twice the number of the strands employed; this will

bring all strands back to their original positions. Each time that

this is done the opposing plat at the bottom should be raveled out

before adding further to the length. To ravel, always pass the

lower end through the lower part of the plat as illustrated in 'II 2954.

The illustration for this plat ('#2955) shows five strands, turned over

each time they pass an edge. This, of course, will not give a pleasing

appearance unless the split side of the leather is well finished.

2956. A slit leather plat is made by reeving the two ends of a

strap alternately through slits in the opposing end. This is often

seen in the leather shops but may easily be made at home.

2957. LINK SINNET. As links are best cut out with a stamp, the

o sinnet generally is commercially made. This and'll 2956 are found on

luggage tags, wrist straps, dog collars, leashes and such commodities.

2958. This shows a Western bridle tassel which closely resembles

a plat. But it is made by reeving the ends of two mid died rawhide

thongs through a series of evenly spaced slots. The ends are fringed.

A number of knotted cords that suggest sin nets will be found in

the chapters on macrame (32), mats (30), and fancy knots (3 [ ). A

LONG DIAMOND of two or more strands may be considered platting,

000 and of course a LONG TURK'S-HEAD is of a very similar nature.

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