Forum - Newbies - To cut or not to cut? | BraceletBook

To cut or not to cut?

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canoworms Advanced	1 year, 10 months ago by canoworms So, I've only done one weaving project before and that was to weave a chevron bracelet and it was successful. However, I have cats and it was very hard to work with the thread dangling down from my desk and making them go crazy. For my next project I am planning to make myself a bookmark but the design I am using will require quite a bit of thread. I'm anxious about cutting any thread since I'm not sure how much I'll need as well as not wanting to torment the cats with it. 😢 I've seen videos of people just keeping all their thread within the skein it came in and just pulling the whole thing through the hole every time they knot. But from the looks of it, I'm not entirely sure that it would exactly be easier... what do you all think I should do? 🤔 In case anybody is interested in seeing the particular pattern I am going to use for my bookmark, here is the link: https://www.braceletbook.com/patterns/alpha/113174/ (Ambitious for somebody whose only weaved once before, I know 🙈 )
IndyHaine Bracelet King	1 year, 10 months ago by IndyHaine Hi! I, too, usually leave it on the bobbin when I'm making alphas. But when I make alphas, I usually cut the string and then wind it around two fingers und pull it off when its all wound up - that way you end up with a tiny ball of yarn for each string. This way I don't have to detangle the strings as much, and it would also mean that it doesn't tangle down the table to tempt your cats into catching it. 🙂
Blueknot Bracelet King	1 year, 10 months ago by Blueknot Cutting the strings wastes a bit of string, and tends to be quicker. Cutting the strings doesn't waste much string, but would be more difficult to work with. If you want to use your string efficiently I would recommend not cutting it, if you want the process to be slightly faster then I would recommend cutting them. 🙂
halokiwi Moderator	1 year, 10 months ago by halokiwi Personally I leave my leading strings on the skein when knotting alphas. You can actually move the base string around the leading string to make knots, so this avoids any issues that working with something big like a whole skein might cause. But honestly, if you feel most comfortable cutting the leading strings shorter, do it! When you run out, you just switch to a new piece of leading string 🙂

IndyHaine Bracelet King	1 year, 10 months ago by IndyHaine I meant I leave the string on the bobbins when I make alphas and cut it when I make NORMALS. I really need to read over what I write before I hit "post". Sorry.
asterism Professional	1 year, 10 months ago by asterism This is a perfect opportunity to use what i like to call The Aster Alpha Technique (while i did discover it for myself, i'm sure many other people have found it long before me) I'll try to explain it as best as i can, but if there's any confusion please tell me and i will clarify. basically it goes like this: when you go to make a knot in an alpha pattern, normally you would pull the long string through, right? (I call this the "color string"). But what if...you pulled the base string through instead? Make a 4 or reverse 4 like usual. But instead of pulling the color string through the loop, you grab the base string and pull it through instead. Then you give the base string a little tug so the knot flips, and tighten it like normal. you can leave the color strings in the skeins and never have to worry about running out, and your cats will probably not be able to reach them! It's a win-win!
spyderwebs Professional	1 year, 10 months ago by spyderwebs i personally prefer to cut my strings when i make alphas. especially if you use the flat alpha technique, it’s very easy to weave in new strings. when starting with a new leading string i like to weave it through a couple of knots before it actually starts, which really secures it. it’s no different to adding in a new colour! but it does make the back a little messier. so you could just cut shorter strings if you’re willing to keep adding new ones, but if you don’t like adding new strings or want a cleaner back, either leaving it in the skein or putting it on a bobbin may be the best option
feiwafeiwa Bracelet King	1 year, 9 months ago by feiwafeiwa @asterism I do the same thing! It's great when some of your strings are shorter than others!

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