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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

How do I keep the working threads looking taut and tidy


If you own one of my first tutorials, you have probably seen that the cords in those photos, despite my efforts to avoid the chaos, are not so neatly arranged.

Being myself a knotter, tutorial designer, writer and photographer, I need my threads look tidy all the time so I can work and shoot the process without wasting time looking for the next cord to tie.

I must add that I use my board slightly inclined and in a horizontal position. Here is the solution I have found.

The inspiration came from a disc

At first, I used a small kumihimo disc under my board to keep the strands organized. But soon I realized the disc didn’t really work for projects with larger amounts of threads. So, I started looking for an inexpensive material similar to the kumihimo disc.




Then, I found this: a kneeling pad! The length was perfect for my board.

Do you want to see how it works?
Watch this video.

Keep reading if you would like to know how I made it.









Materials & Tools:
  • Kneeling pad 
  • Pencil 
  • Ruler 
  • X acto knife 
  • Soldering iron




  1. On one of the longer sides of the board make marks every half inch (or closer if you like to have more gaps) 
  2. Do the same on the rounded corners and 2 o 3 inches on the short sides of the board 
  3. With the X acto knife cut into the marks about half an inch of depth. 
  4. As you see the slits are really closed and hard to notice. 
  5. To widen the slits, slightly arch the board... 
  6. ...and pass the soldering iron, in a 45 angle, to widen only the corners of each one of the slits. CAUTION: Make sure you do this in a well ventilated area.
  7. The widened gaps should only be visible in front of the board. And this is done :) 
  8. The board that helps my threads look taut and tidy. 
Using the same technique, I made myself a portable board I use over my knees and against a desk. Because I use the board standing up, the slits on the bottom are useless. To fix that, I added the purple adjustable bar which can be moved to get closer to the work when the cords get shorter. 

Please leave your comments. Thanks!!!

4 comments:

  1. Muchas gracias Raquel, es una idea estupenda. Yo hice mi tablero con foami de 5mm, pero no se me había ocurrido hacer esas ranuras abajo para mantener ordenados los hilos. Me lo apunto!!!

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    1. Maria Jesus a ti las gracias por tu comentario. La idea del tablero con foami es una excelente idea! A ver como te quedan las ranuras. Abrazos!

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  2. thank you for this cool idea. My other problem is how to keep my cat from chewing on my strings while I am working :). If I am not working on it, I have to hide it, otherwise I will find chewed off strings the next morning.

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    Replies
    1. This comment made me laugh. I guess its not so funny when your work is ruined because of your cat!!

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