Repurposing Bale Twine
Into Rope
The Farmer is not a cheapskate.
In fact if you ask The Farmers Wife
he tends to spend too much at times.
That said he hates to waste good stuff.
Everyone has an opinion of what good stuff is.
In this case its all the twine that gets tossed out.
The Sheep went through 175 bales of hay this winter.
That's 350 pieces of twine destined for the land fill.
Hmm what to do what to do........
AHA!!!
ROPE
The Farmer may never need the rope.
It may hang in the barn forever.
But one day it may be needed.
When it is called for
The Farmer may remember where he put it.
So on with it already.
A bale of hay is where we begin
Locate the knots
Locate the scisors
Be a bit knotty.
Err cut them off.
Tie 12 pieces together leaving a foot or so to tie in at the end.
Hang them at chest height.
Separete into three sets of 4 pcs.
Now Braid.
When about 24 inches from the end stop and grab a new piece.
Tuck the new piece in and braid over top of it.
Repeat this for all three strands.
Make four braids after adding the three new pieces.
Now cut one of the short pieces and braid over top of the stub.
Make two more braids to get past the stub then add three more.
Now when you get near the end you will have staggered ends.
You may have to trim a bit off one or two of them.
Just enough to make the sets of three even.
The Farmer adds the new pieces when the stubs are six inches long.
This way there are about three braids before the stub is gone.
Try to direct the stub so it is braided under.
Its time consuming to do all twelve pieces.
but it makes for a nice strong splice.
When you have the desired length rope leave a foot unbraided.
Tie a scrap piece around to stop the braid from unraveling.
Now you need a handy dandy rug hooking tool.
Less than $3 at W@((mar+
Find somewhere comfortable and have a seat.
Remove the scrap.
Bend one of the three strands of four over top of the other two.
That will lock them into place.
Push the tool through the braid and pull one strand through.
The Farmer tried to pull two strands through and broke the tool.
So one at a time pull the strands back through the rope.
It gets easire to follow the pattern of the rope as you go.
Finish both ends this way and it will never unravel.
This is the best end The Farmer has made so far.
We'll pretend all of them are just as nice.
Voila!
ROPE
More rope
A hardware item can be used to make many into one.
One never knows when a long rope will be needed.
But having a long one for a short job is a pain in the butt
Happy Braiding!
