Whip Basics. The Forum

If you're doubling over strands then you should get the chevron working out naurally as you'll have the same colour on both sides at the same level IYSWIM.t

Roger, " IYSWIM.t" ?

Ron

A chevron is just a wide angle V. If you have just one the pair of midnight blue they'll do chevrons on their own if you do the square start correctly since they'll wrap back around and end up next to each other, forming a V. Unless you need the strands in a particular order for a color pattern, the order of strands doesn't matter as long as the square/crown start are woven together correctly.

IYSWIM - If You See What I Mean (the .t was a typo)

And another:
ICYMI - In Case You Missed It

And my favourite:
SWMBO - She Who Must Be Obeyed (usually referring to Kat!)

OMG Roger, nooooo can't forget SWMBO !
When I was married, I wore the pants in the relationship. And I had her permission to say so.


Ron

Oh yes, I wear my forehead thumbprint with pride!

Boy howdy.
I have just about had it with trying to do a square start.
I follow the videos multiple times and still no joy.
With 2 strands around 27' and trying to keep every thing un-tangled and then trying to
snug down around the 'dowel' and transfer that to a handle.
I lost count at 10 times and no go.
I have tried hemostat , chip clips, bobby-pins , a paper clip ... to help hold the strands in place, well you get the idea. Every thing still gets all mess up.

I am not giving up on it, but a standard start and cutting off the end of the handle with a hack saw is looking pretty good to me at this moment.


Ron

This is what I am going to try next.
It's a paper clip bent into a "U" then the strands are arranged on the handle and the clip is slipped
over them and secured with a rubber band on the open end. The yellow marks are from a grease pencil to
mark the middle of the strands.
Hopefully this will allow me to do all the Us and Os to complete the square start with out letting
it become a hot mess.









Ron

Hey Ron, not sure if this will help or make matters worse. I find the square start to be a pain to learn initially due to all the weaving.
The below photos show my method with the gaucho start, which has less weaving and is easier to tighten after you finish the rounds.

First, for a 12 plait, the 6 strands are held at the middle point, pinched by the thumb.


The top strand is then taken and woven first, Over one, then under two, over two. This same pattern will be used throughout, but it will get shorter and we weave the strands.


Second strand, as before Over one, Under two, Over one.


Third strand, Over one Under two.


Fourth strand, Over one, Under one.


Fifth strand, Over one. This is the last strand that needs to woven for the right side.


The sixth strand is left remaining and will be used to wrap around and connect the two sides.
It is woven through the left side by going Over one, Under two, Over two, Under one.


This next strand will be used to start the Gaucho pattern that will be followed till you switch patterns.
This strand is the top strand from the left side will be woven through the right side by Over two, Under Two, Over two.



From there one out the right side will be U2 O2 U2, then back to O2 U2 O2.
The left side will be U1 O2 U2 O1, then back to O1 U2 O2 U1.

As you notice, the pattern flips back and forth each full round (left pass, then right pass). This forms the gaucho herringbone, or stairsteps.

After a couple rounds and tightening.


Once tightened you'll notice that as with the square start, the number of points you see at the top is half the plait count. For example a 12 plait makes a hexagon on the end, and 16 plait makes an octagon.
Hope this helps, or at least distracts you from the square start frustration.

Thank you Devin.
I am going to give that a try.
It seems that it would transition into a regular herring bone easier than the square start.
It does look like a viable alternative.

Ron

Devin, those are beautifully clear photos of the gaucho start. Thanks very much for posting them. Even for non-plaiters like myself, they explain a great deal - and it's always gratifying to understand how things work....

I think these photos and descriptions would be good in the FAQ. Yes?

Ron

Ron May wrote:I think these photos and descriptions would be good in the FAQ. Yes?

Ron

Yes!

Thanks, Devin! And thanks Ron for all the hard work too!
We all learn from the process..,

Devin, brilliant! I'm going to have a play around with that!

Glad you like it Ron, let me know if you have any questions.
I have added it to the original Gaucho thread in the meantime and Jessi is more than welcome to add this and the pictures to a FAQ if you guys would like it.

Thanks Robert and Roger!

Anyway not to hijack the thread too much, good luck Ron!

TADA !

I think I finally got the square start.
This is a photo of it on a dowel ready for transfer and tightening on the handle.
This was very hard for me. I don't know why that was, but I believe I finally understand the process now.



Ron

Nice! This is one of those things that can be confusing at first, but when it all "clicks" the right way, you'll know how to do it in your sleep.


- Pokkis

Hey, hey! Looks great!!! You will probably have to teach me that soon, Ron!!
Congratulations!!!

Thanks Pokkis. It's now fairly simple to me after starting over 15+ time.

Rachel, if I were proficient with doing them I would be more than glad to.
If you ever wanted to make a bull whip I am sure you would get it right on the
very first time.

Ron

Glad that it is starting to click with you Ron, it is a weird thing sort of like turksheads where the concept while simple is frustrating till the gist clicks with you. From what I can tell it looks properly done and should snug up fine with a little care.