Braiding Parachute cord questions

[gbsbullet]

Hello,

I'm trying to braid a mecate out of parachute cord but, I want to avoid having lots little of braids inside my final braid. What I mean by this, is that when looking at my finish pattern I want all the thread that was braided to be straight and not pre-braided inside my finished braid. However, the only way I can think to achieve this is to buy the cord and then unbraid the entire cord until I have the original raw thread used to originally braid the parachute cord.

So my question is, does anyone either know somewhere to buy cord that is already in this condition, or is there a particular technique to remove the original braid quickly and easily.

Any info on this would be very much appreciated.

[troy]

Must admit to of never heard of such a thing - all rope/string etc are braided or twisted together, as with sewing thread) to give strength/tension and form to the rope - without it all the individual threads would seperate and act as an individual instead of as a group - as far as sustaning force goes - same reasons why a whip is braided and not just one long bit of leather, the tension and stretch is equal and shared around the entire circumfirance.

The only thing I can suggest is that sometimes the cores for paracord and other rope are less braided then the outside and would be easier to unbraid - other then that, use natural fibres such as nettles/bark or sewing thread.

Hope that helps some.

Hello,

I'm trying to braid a mecate out of parachute cord but, I want to avoid having lots little of braids inside my final braid. What I mean by this, is that when looking at my finish pattern I want all the thread that was braided to be straight and not pre-braided inside my finished braid. However, the only way I can think to achieve this is to buy the cord and then unbraid the entire cord until I have the original raw thread used to originally braid the parachute cord.

So my question is, does anyone either know somewhere to buy cord that is already in this condition, or is there a particular technique to remove the original braid quickly and easily.

Any info on this would be very much appreciated.

[Suze]

go to http://www.braidershand.com/threadsform1.html (it is a site for kumihimo and other fibercrafts) they sell SILK threads and one they call "Imposter" that is a good match for silk (also half the price) And this is the craft that they used to hold Samuri armor together with so it can be very strong.

I have3 bought both the silk and the imposter and it is very hard to tell the difference.

WORD OF WARNING - KUMIHIMO CAN BE ADDICTING >grin< Hve fun

a little info----- from the site

This bundle of silk has four ropes of 672 threads that are pre-cut at 105” (2.7 m) long for braiding on the marudai, takadai or kumihimo disk or plate. The silk is packaged in Japan in this manner so that braiders can easily make the traditional belts, the obijime, that go around the obi. A round obijime made with this number of threads is approximately 1/4" to 3/8" (5-8mm) in diameter. (Braids: 250 Patterns from Japan, Peru and Beyond by Rodrick Owen)

For other projects it is easy to divide up the silk in any way the braider wishes. The fourth rope, at the bottom of the photo, has been further broken down into four sections. BraidersHand thread comes in packages that contain one rope of thread that has four sections.

One package of silk has 42 fine threads in each of the four sections for a total of 168 threads. The thread size is150/3 which is about the same size as 00 silk thread available on small spools in the USA.

INFO ON PRICING

The Biron and Imposter has 39 threads in each section for a total of 156 threads. The metallics have 31 threads in each section for a total of 124 threads. Silk

Fine Silk comes in 44 colors - $10.50 per package.

Please use this Shade Card to select your colors as there is not longer a shade card being made.

Note that on our Order Form the Fine Silk is indicated with an "S", the Biron a "B" (see Synthetic below, for information on Biron.).

Premium Silk in 80 colors - $11.75 per package.

Premium Shade Card - $16.00.

Note that on our Premium Silk Order Form each number is preceded by a "PS".

Synthetic

Imposter is our new synthetic thread, it comes in 67 colors - $5.50 per package.

Imposter Shade Card - $16.00.

On the Imposter Order Form each number is preceded by an "I".

Biron (bee-ron) thread is a viscose thread made as a synthetic silk. It comes in the same 44 colors as the Fine Silk - $4.50 per package

Biron has been discontinued but we still have a supply, especially pastels, no shade card available. Please use the Fine Silk Order Form.

[gbsbullet]

Must admit to of never heard of such a thing - all rope/string etc are braided or twisted together, as with sewing thread) to give strength/tension and form to the rope - without it all the individual threads would seperate and act as an individual instead of as a group - as far as sustaning force goes - same reasons why a whip is braided and not just one long bit of leather, the tension and stretch is equal and shared around the entire circumfirance.

The only thing I can suggest is that sometimes the cores for paracord and other rope are less braided then the outside and would be easier to unbraid - other then that, use natural fibres such as nettles/bark or sewing thread.

Hope that helps some.

Troy,

Thanks for the answers, I appreciate it. And just a clarification I understand why they are braided and I will be rebraiding the cord to make my mecate for the additional strength. However, it's just that when I finish I sould like all my fibers within "my" braid to be in a straight line so it looks like I used raw materials. If that makes sense? Again thanks for the info and if that changes anything please let me know.

[gbsbullet]

suze,

Thanks for the info, this is kinda what I was looking for or at least closer to what I had in mind. I'll check it out more, thanks for the link.

[Suze]

you're welcome

and they are really nice to deal with - the last time I ordered something I had it the next day......WOW

If you do get this kind of "silk" and like it - get the shade card - it's worth the bucks