Three-strand braid of acrylic, bicolor loops. (Color A on upper loops of La and Lb, Color B on bottom loops of La and Lb, Color A (both loops) on Rb, A-fell method). I wanted something relatively subtle, which this is.
The same in #10 cotton (and different colors, of course). I did a pair of these, suitable for drawstrings on a bag. They too are subtle, with two colors that are similar in value, one of which has a mylar ply to give it a bit of sparkle.
The above were all done with the common method of the operator finger going through one loop and then picking up (while reversing) the next loop. In particular, since I used A-fell, the index finger went through the middle finger on the same hand and picked up the bottom of the middle-finger loop of the other hand. Walk down the index finger loop to the empty middle finger and repeat with the other hand.
Five-loop square braid in cotton, 3 colors (Color A on La and Lb, Color B on Lc, and Color C on Rb and Rc, A-fell method). I tried a different pattern with bicolor loops but apparently I charted it out wrong. So I retied my loops and went for this simpler pattern. Again, I did a pair of these braids, mostly because I cut too many loops for the 3-loop braid, oops, so cut a few more and made another set of cords in a different pattern.
For this braid, also quite common, the index finger goes through the middle finger loop and then the ring finger loop of the same hand, then picks up the ring-finger loop of the other hand (from the bottom, to twist it). Walk down the index and middle fingers to the empty ring/middle fingers and repeat with the other hand.
I'm pleased that my tension is fairly consistent along the entire length of the braid, and that the two braids are closely matched. Ditto for the other braids, but with this color pattern in the 5-loop braid, it's very visible.
I'm teaching a class this weekend on the 2-loop chain sinnet aka finger-crochet aka zipper sinnet. This photo shows what the resulting cord/sinnet looks like when done with 2 different colors or only 1 color, done in fairly thick cotton so the details are relatively easy to see. I started one with a knot and one with just looping, just to see how fiddly it would be. I'm going to start people off with a knot unless they're doing the fold-in-half method. They can always unknot it later.
I looked through the books on my shelf to see where I could find this described. After just a few minutes, I found it in a knitting book, ABOK, a decorative knots book, a book on tassels, a book on decorating with ribbons, and a book on weaving-associated techniques. And that doesn't include the internet, where it is most easily found under the term "zipper sinnet" or "zipper sennit" and usually shows it as a paracord braiding technique. I have no idea how old this is. My guess is pretty old just because it's so easy to play around and invent this little structure. 19th century, for sure, given that it's in ABOK. But beyond that? I'll keep my eyes open when I cruise around for old pics and reports on historic cordage and knots.
Sinnet and sennit are both accepted spellings. The word can be dated to at least the early 17th century. It seems to mean something like braid, so it might well be a more general reference rather than a reference to this crochet-like looping techniques. Straw plaiting often shows up in my searches in addition to discourses on rope-management techniques (i.e. shortening a rope so that it behaves better in storage and transport).
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