Rope is one of the first technologies given to humans. Human's could make rope before they knew how to do pottery, invented the wheel, smelted iron. Weaving is a skill, gifted to humans, long before any other technology.
During the activity, the history and preparing of the cedar bark used will be discussed. Making a simple rope should make it much clearer and enable people to understand how important making rope is.
A common question: What is rope used for? Camping, clothes lines, fishing nets, basket ball hoops, jump rope, and many more including friendship bracelets.
Objective:
This project is a practical introduction to cedar bark weaving for anyone with no weaving experience. Participants will also be able to understand the basic vocabulary of weaving.
• Weaving — The process of forming a basket, or in this project, a rope bracelet by interlacing strands of bark.
• Strand — a weaver with no warp. Several strands can be twisted together to make rope.
Difficulty Level: Easy
Approximate Workshop Time Period: 45 - 60 minutes a period.
Things You'll Need:
Materials per person
- a 3 foot by 1/4” wide strip of cedar bark
- a Devil's Club bead
Tools:
- scissors
- rulers
- buckets of water
- cloth towels
- Soak cedar bark 15 minutes prior to class
- dried out bark breaks and frays, keep wet
- Do not leave bark wet in plastic bag
- Always dry your bracelet & bark overnight
What you will learn in this project
How to twist cedar bark into twine or rope for use in various projects including a friendship bracelet. Cedar bark rope is made by rolling or twisting two strands (or one folded in half) in one direction causing twisted strands to ply together. Stones or clothes pins tied at end of bark strands aid in repeatedly twisting strands.
Step One:
Both Strands are twisted separately to the left (or both to the right, describe the z twist and s twist)
Step Two:
New strands are added in by laying in new strand behind short strand, and both are twisted together as one... rope making then continued... Cut off tags when rope is finished.
Overhand Knot
To make the overhand knot at the end of your twisted rope: first make a turn and then insert the end through the turn as pictured.
Devil's Club Bead
Harvested around the same time as Cedar Bark, Devil Club is also called Wild Ginger in Alaska. And the inner (green) bark used for various medicinal purposes. What's left over is the stem cut to various lengths, which has a pith can that be hollowed out and used as a bead.
Extended Lesson
This project can be expanded to challenge the creativity of the participants, by extending the length of the rope by inserting or adding in more strands. A longer length can be used as a necklace, or several lengths can be braided together to make a belt. If you're really motivated, the rope can be used to make a fishing net or basketball hoop. Learning how to tie different knots using the rope you made is also a valuable learning exercise. Try also making a three strand or three ply rope.