YouTube video by Duncan McHarg showing and explaining thread making
Notes
- linen thread
- attaching boar bristles
- untwisting cord on thigh
- staggering plies
- twisting plies on thigh, one side at a time
- tearing away loose fiber and fluff away with an awl
- burnishing with leather
- skeining in hand
Supplies
- linen thread, single ply, Z twist
- 2 beeswax : 1 pine resin (simple)
- blunt smooth awl for smoothing thread
- pig’s bristles
- fine point
- knife for trimming
- smooth piece of wood to smooth bristle and thread braiding
Process
- roll down leg
- fibers become parallel, lose grip, pull apart
- undo extra twist in remaining thread
- stagger fine points of each ply
- pull through hands
- quality of thread → length of fibers in the thread
- wax ends together
- pull through hands to make tension the same
- wax the other end
- hook around a hook or chair leg
- twist up the end first, then release other hand and let twist continue down to the hook
- wrap the done end many times around finger, then twist the other side
- aim for about 45° twist angle
- seesaw around the nail to even the twist through the thread
- wrap smooth awl around thread
- move awl back and forward to remove fluff, smoothing it out
- don’t forget to smooth the part behind the nail
- then wax everything
- burnish the wax with leather
- skein around thumb and finger
Mounting Bristle
- split bristle in two
- cut root end at an angle
- wax the fork and 1-2cm below
- trap the fine tip in the fork of the bristle
- pull down at right angle about a cm
- wind over itself
- make every winding touch the one before it
- wind around one tine of the fork, then wind the other tine with it
- go about 1cm at a time
- poke fine point through the thread to make a hole
- put the tip of the bristle through it
- roll under a piece of wood to smooth it
- smooth transition from bristle to thread
- great closeup shots of it