Taught an 84 YO how to make Nacrabiners

**Bat** · 05-17-2010, 17:57

I'm on a 7 hour Amtrak ride. I decided to use the time to make some Nacrabiners for friends. The 84 year old lad sitting across from me finally asked what I was making. I explained it to her and I offered to help her make one. Sh ook me up on the offer. She is excited to get off the train and show her gandson what she made. Her grandson is a scoumaster for a Boyscout troop. What a cool granny!

**Rug** · 05-17-2010, 18:16

Now I really feel like a tool for not being able to make one. Thanks.

An 84 year old Granny can kick my ***!

**gargoyle** · 05-17-2010, 18:20

Good work, kritter. Now get her in a hammock.

**Bat** · 05-17-2010, 18:35

Rug maybe I'm a really good teacher. They are simple to make. Which part is tripping you up? The knot was the tough part for me but once you find a video on YouTube that works for your brain you will be tying diamond knots in your sleep. The video that helped me was listed as a "lanyard knot" same knot different name.
I wrote some hammock info down for her great grandson. She said at her age roughing it is less than four stars

She was a cool lady and sounds like did plenty of outdoor stuff in her day.

**Rug** · 05-17-2010, 18:47

The knot is the hard part for me. I can do the knot, I just can't dress it so that it rolls into a ball, every time I make one, it is wide and flat as opposed to round and tight. I have been mostly using Dynaglide (2mm?) so perhaps if I used some bigger amsteel it would be easier.

**pgibson** · 05-17-2010, 18:57

Some bigger line would probably be better to get the hang of it, I used to have some 5 foot pieces of 5mm cord around just for practicing knots with. With some 7/64 or 1/8 inch amsteel you will probably be able to see --and that is the big thing just seeing how things are laying together.

**ikemouser** · 05-17-2010, 18:58

Awesome, i love to see the old people respected. They get disrespected so much nowadays.

**Bat** · 05-17-2010, 19:34

Start with thicker line. I started with 7/64 Amsteel. Now I can do it with 1.75 mm Zing-it and I'm legally blind. You can do it stick with it. I would find the line you are using to be tough. It is flatter and would bunch up, to me.

**OrionFyre** · 05-18-2010, 08:59

That is so cool. Her grandson's gonna think grandma is one cool cat still!

When I first went to look at fabric at the store I was with my dad and we felt like a hooker in a church. Nice older lady that worked there asked if we needed help and I told her I was looking for ripstop nylon for a hammock.

In the words of Shug, whoooooo buddy was she awesome. She knew her stuff asking if I was going to do a gathered end and whip it or go fancy and sew a channel and doing lots of thinking out loud.. She knew what weight they carried, everything. She had helped her grandson make most of his camping gear as he was in the scouts and after helping me thought it would be fun for the two of them to make a hammock.

That's my store now. for incidentals that I discover I need and don't want to wait for shipping I ride my bicycle past three other fabric stores by 4 miles to get there.