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Make twine - PEP BB textile.sand.twine

BB textiles - sand badge
 
gardener
Posts: 550
Location: 6a; BSk; Suburbia; 0.35 acres
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I made twine from yucca that I locally harvested and processed. I made a two ply hand spun rope with the reverse wrapping plus splicing in additional yucca strands. The first 10 ft I completed over many days because it was so tiring for my hands. But then we got to go to a hot springs so I was able to do the remaining 10 ft in water and that was way easier on my hands!

To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
  -  make at least a 20 feet length of twine
  -  the twine must be plied

To document your completion of the BB, provide proof of the following as pics or video (less than two minutes):
  -  your raw materials
  -  your process of making twine
  -  your completed twine (with a tape measure, perhaps)
yucca-harvest.jpg
yucca leaves for making twine
midway.jpg
hand twisting twine
20ft-of-2-ply-yucca-twine.JPG
20 feet of 2-ply handtwisted yucca twine
Staff note (gir bot) :

Cheryl Loomans approved this submission.
Note: Yucca sounds very stiff. No wonder your hands got tired. Well done!

 
pollinator
Posts: 197
Location: Fairfield, Idaho, USA
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Is there a maximum thickness for "twine?" I started making grass twine and tried to make it small but found that making it thicker worked a lot better. This is about how thick it is (see picture).
IMG_20250522_201229_690.jpg
[Thumbnail for IMG_20250522_201229_690.jpg]
 
Hal Schibel
pollinator
Posts: 197
Location: Fairfield, Idaho, USA
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I made my twine out of the tallest grass I could find. My plant identification app told me it was foxtail meadowgrass. It had a long stem with a head that I pulled off and some grass leaves that I kept. It also had some thick, knobby nodes all down it. It took a little bit of playing around with it to see how I wanted to use it and if some parts worked better than others.

I was honestly fairly skeptical that this would work. I was thinking there's no way that this stuff will hold together and make some kind of rope. But once I got it going and it was holding together and it was pretty strong it's like something clicked for me and now I'm a little obsessed. I went for a drive and kept looking around thinking "everything is rope!" It took me two days to make this and I couldn't stop thinking about it all night until I finished it. It's so simple and so effective. After I finished it I tried turning it into a tug o' war rope for my dogs and while they did eventually break it it took a while with both of them yanking on it. I'm definitely going to perfect this skill and make my own dog toys from now on.
IMG_20250522_190551_561.jpg
Gathering grass.
Gathering grass.
IMG_20250522_191536_024.jpg
A bunch of grass.
A bunch of grass.
IMG_20250522_192700_145.jpg
First attempt was a thin twine.
First attempt was a thin twine.
IMG_20250522_201229_690.jpg
This is a good size for this grass.
This is a good size for this grass.
IMG_20250522_205010_095.jpg
In progress.
In progress.
IMG_20250522_211445_808.jpg
Looking good.
Looking good.
IMG_20250523_124516_244.jpg
About 21 feet!
About 21 feet!
IMG_20250523_125656_649.jpg
Twined it back in on itself a couple of times.
Twined it back in on itself a couple of times.
IMG_20250523_130011_194.jpg
Tied some knots in it.
Tied some knots in it.
IMG_20250523_130511_289.jpg
Tug o' war!
Tug o' war!
Staff note (gir bot) :

Nicole Alderman approved this submission.
Note: I hereby certify that this badge bit is complete! I love that you turned it into a tug-of-war! Grass isn't the strongest twine, but you found a great use for it!

 
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