Crafting – Modern Anachronist

Hatband for the straw hat

Sorry, this one happened too quickly for pictures. Seriously, once I started tying it just flew between my fingers.

The construction of the snake knot has the cords reversed on the inside. (Red is wrapped around black.) This means that the colors of the True Lovers Knot in the center are opposite the snake knot for a bit of visual contrast.

Paracord hatband

I’ve been playing with rope/cord/line for my entire life. Sometimes more successfully than others. After making the lanyard for my wife’s cane, I decided that my hat needed some color as well.

8 Strand Herringbone Braid Variations.

So I started playing with paracord and wanted to do some experiments with color.

This is an eight* strand herringbone braid in two colors. I find it interesting how changing the order of the colors changes the overall appearance of the project.

So far, the eight strand herringbone braid is my favorite braid. The biggest reason is that when it’s evenly tensioned, the finished braid is square in cross section. It’s quite striking visually and feels very interesting.

More experiments

My nice hat is in need of some color, so I decided to test out some decorative knots.

Cane Lanyard

The dear Wife had surgery on her ankle this spring and is still on the mend. She recently graduated from crutches to cane and tasked me to rig up a lanyard for it.

Another hobby (as if I didn’t have enough already)

As I’ve been working on my Norse kit over the years and trying to flesh out the details, I’ve learned about Nålbinding.

Nålbinding is a way to make stretchable fabric that predates knitting or crochet. The Norse used Nålbinding to make hats, mittens, and socks.