Net making for beginners

[henry d]

After a bit of interest was shown recently about net making I decided to try and do a photo shoot to show how easy it is!

Ideally the best way is to watch and copy someone else,but this way I reach a bigger audience.

 

Firstly the required bits,you could buy all the needles,rings,nylon/hemp twine etc.

 

OR..... DIY it with the needle and ring made of fence wire and a ball of parcel/garden string and a bit of wood.

 

The mesh measure is a piece of number plate but could easily be wood perspex etc. and is approx.2 1/4" wide and I like to have a slight taper to mine to make easing the meshes off easier.Above all it MUST be smooth.

[henry d]

Firstly load your needle,twist or knot the end around the spike and wind the twine underneath and around the spike and back and forward until it`s loaded.

Attach the ring with a loop of twine to a convenient point,back of a chair is my preference and tie the twine SECURELY to the ring.Place the measure next to the ring and wrap the twine around it and pass the needle through the ring,then back through the loop you`ve made.Then come up through the ring again and down through the loop you`ve made,basically you`ve tied a clove hitch onto the ring.

[henry d]

Carry on until you have enough loops on your ring.

I would advise 8 or 10 as this is just a practice to get you into the swing of it.

Slide the measure out and lay the needle end of the twine over the measure and trap it with your thumb,then pass the needle under the measure and up through the first loop,as in the picture.

[henry d]

Now the tricky bit,pull the twine until the measure is snug up against the loop and trap the twine FIRMLY with your thumb and loop it over the top of your hand.Pass the needle behind and up through the loop you made(see pic).

Now pull it firm and next we will add another knot above this to lock it or the knot may slip and render the net useless.Again trap the twine with your thumb and loop over your hand,then pass the needle behind and through the loop.

 

BTW - these pics are taken a few rows down just for clarity as this should be your second row.

 

Now for clarity I have drawn over the 1st picture to show how the twine will look under my thumb.

[henry d]

You then just keep on going until you finish a row,then add the next row as we have just done.

 

The really fun bit is when you want to make a proper purse net.Start with 10 loops and when you go to the next row,put your first loop on as usual,thentake the twine round the measure and instead of picking up the next loop you pich up the loop you have just come from and knot on to that one and then carry on to the next free loop.

 

Sorry pictures in wrong order !

[henry d]

Then as you progress along the row on the penultimate(one before last)loop you add a loop there.

So the progression is as follows cast on 10 loops to the ring,next row add 2(12 in total for 2nd row),next row add 2(14) next row add 2......and so on until you have 18 meshes wide you then do 10 rows of 18 meshes and then decrease.

 

Decreasing is easy,just start as before but on the second mesh catch in 2 loops from the row above and carry on until 3 loops from the end you catch in 2 loops from the row above.

 

Keep decreasing until you finish a row of 12,you then start tying in the ring as we did at the start.

 

Easy innit

 

If you`re starting off just try to knit a plain net of 6-8-10 meshes wide until you can get the knots tied no bother.Another thing to be wary of is,sometimes when pulling the knot tight it will slip under the "U" of the loop you are trying to attach it to and this is just like having a slip knot in the net.

 

Any queries just ask and either myself or one of the others,TC in particular may be able to sort you out

 

Now get knitting

[henry d]

Lastly a finished net and a net I was given that was knitted onto plastic pipe sections and a strange flat drawstring.The latter catches as good as any other and is knitted with doubled twine.

[Ferretboy111]

Nice pictures and good instructions, but your working with nylon, ewwww awful stuff, tangles in everything.

 

Alex

 

[henry d]

It doesn`t rot,comes in various sizes and types,has a bit of stretch and is cheap too!

[Fenlander]

Thanks very much Henry,thats very helpful

 

All the best Mick.

[new to the flock]

Well done Henry , I am going to give it a go next bit of time I get.

 

NTTF

[kip270]

Well done H.

Wish i had someone to instruct me when i started to make nets years ago. My cousin bought the kit then came over to my house to see if i could make out the instructions Like a fool i said leave it with me Twenty hemp nets later he comes back and says "Thanks, when are we going to use them"

 

a very good post

 

 

 

ps, you can also make your own hammock if you felt the need, same principle

[lurcherboy]

Can u do me a nice cardy HD as the last one was incinerated after Ethels death

 

 

 

LB

[Frank]

Right......Ill give it a go..

 

Thanks H.

 

I noticed in one of the pics, a net with a plastic peg on, i used these and found them weak and they broke easy, trying to put them in the ground.

How do you find them H?

 

I got my lot from KP&S nets, never again.

Have now changed them all to good old hard wood pegs.

 

Frank.

[henry d]

FRANK - the plastic peg is no bother as it`s "X" shaped in cross section and has a nice large head to push it home.I did have to modify it as it came with a hook for the guy line of a tent to attach to,I just cut it off with a hacksaw.

Any probs contact me

 

**EDIT** from a better netsman than myself.........

 

........If you look at this photo( Post #5), It's the one with the added loop. You will see a few of the meshes are starting to twist. If you look at the 4th mesh in from the left you will see it starting to twist. A little further along the row towards the end of the row they are starting to twist again. By the time you get half way through making the net all the meshes will be twisted like this.

I see a lot of twisted "hand made" nets for sale the reason they are twisted is that when they get to the end of a row they just pull the board out and turn the netting over and start from the left again. So with every row they are componding the twist. Whereas if they alternated the rows each new row would negate the twist in the privious row.

I hope that you can understand my ramblings.

 

[johnskevena]

Cracking post Henry D

Would you not use spun nylon for your nets because of the advantage of only having to tie a single knot each time ?

[henry d]

Yes you could,but even some people think that spun should also be double knotted.Another disadvantage is the space it takes up on the needle,but horses for courses

[johnskevena]

I use a 10s/15 spun nylon for my nets and it holds a single knot well.

Have you ever used polyester twine or rayon for netmaking Henry d and if so what do you think of it as a net making material?

Just thinking of trying them on a net or two so if any one has used them let me know what you think of them

[henry d]

I`ve only tried 4 & 6z nylon and hemp and I like 6z so I stick with it.