purse net making

[jmilam08 193]

i just got myself some gear to make my own purse nets but never done it before.is there any good dvds or videos i can get to help me making them.and where to get them.cheers.

Edited March 2, 2008 by jmilam08

[para1 11]

i just got myself some gear to make my own purse nets but never done it before.is there any good dvds or videos i can get to help me making them.and where to get them.cheers.

 

NET-MAKING for sport. by Howard G. Glynn . ebay. good luck

[Crow 1]

Here you go

 

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First you’re going to need some materials and net-making equipment:

 

 

Rings: 1 inch rings are usually used for a rabbit purse net, although other sizes may be used. Rings can be of a variety of materials from plastic through to stainless. As you can see I use brass rings (but these are expensive!). Whatever rings you use make sure they are not going to perish or rush within a couple of years.

 

Draw cord: Braided nylon is most commonly used, but again other cords can be used. Whatever material you use it’s best to have a draw-cord a different colour to the net!

 

Peg: The peg can be hard wood, soft wood, metal or plastic. The choice is yours!

 

Twine: Lastly the twine, and often the subject of hot debate. I use hemp because I’m a bit old fashioned (and I like the feel of hemp when I’m using it), but there are many other twines that can be used; cotton, nylon and polyester are just a few. My advice is to try them all and go for what you like best.

 

Needle: The needle holds the twine as you knit. Needles can be made of wood, metal or plastic. I use a 7†needle (I think, I’ve never measured it), but you can use what you like. However, there are two things to remember about needles. 1) they need to fit through your ring, 2) the larger the needle the more twine it will hold.

 

Mesh-board; Sometimes called a gauge; this will set the size of your mesh. Mesh-boards for rabbit purse nets are usually between 2†high and 2 1/4†high. I use a 2 1/8†board giving me an overall mesh of 4 1/2â€. The thickness of the mesh will affect this, so the thinner the better. Mesh-boards come in a variety of materials; plastic, wood and metal are just a few.

 

All materials and equipment are readily available across the internet – you’ll find a few members on here who can help too!

 

So you have your materials and your equipment, now you’re ready to start so find yourself somewhere comfortable to work and with somewhere secure to attach your work to!

 

 

The first thing to do is load your needles with twine. You can use 1 needle but I like to have a couple loaded. Loading the needle is easy to do, but hard to describe! Wind the end of your twine around the long bit in the middle, and then bring the twine down, around the bottom of the needle and back up the other side (if you turn the needle as you do so it will be easier). Take the twine up the needle, hook it around the long central bit and then bring it down the same side of the needle. Take the twine around the bottom of the needle, turn the needle and then go up the other side. Carry on until your needle is loaded. Look at the image above and you should see what I mean!!

 

With needles loaded and ready, secure the ring to an anchor point and knot the end of the twine to the ring.

 

 

Step 1) Hold the mesh stick in the left hand (you’ll see I have my board upside-down at this point – you’ll find out why in a mo). Hold the needle in your right hand. Take the needle over the top of the board and then under it, bringing it up between the board and the ring. Then pass it down through the front of the ring, and bring it up between the board and the two strands of twine.

 

 

Pull the mesh board close to the ring at this point. Place the thumb and forefinger of the left hand over the knot.

 

 

Step 2) You now need to lock the mesh. To do this make a loop and leave it loose, pass the needle through the ring from the back. Pass the needle through the loop and pull firmly to lock the knot.

 

That’s your first mesh done. All you need to do is repeat steps 1 and 2 until you have the desired number of meshes for your first row. But hang on! Earlier I mentioned my mesh board is upside down at this stage, and here’s why.

 

I knit straight on to the ring, but in doing so it’s hard to keep the first row uniform in size because you’re trying to tie a round ring to a straight board. So, I knit 6 meshes onto my board and then slide three off the left hand end (made easy by the rounded corner). This allows the ring to turn slightly and therefore keep the meshes uniform in size. I then knit another three meshes, remove three, etc. See below.

 

Six meshes in:

 

 

Three meshes removed to allow the ring to lie against the board

 

 

It’s up to you how many meshes you put into your first row, and whether or not you want a straight net or a shaped net. Straight nets start at a certain number of meshes (for example 16) and stay at that number for the length of the net. Shaped nets start at less (I start at 12), go out to 16 (for example) and then come back into 12 by the ring. I knit my nets starting at 12, do another row at 12, and add a mesh per row until I hit 16. After 11 rows at 16 meshes I start to decrease 1 mesh per row until 12, then finish with final row of 12. That should give me 21 rows in total.

 

Once you’ve completed your first row gently ease it off the mesh board.

 

 

Now turn your ring over so that you can carry on working left to right. Pass the needle under the mesh stick and back up through the first loop. Pull the needle until the mesh board is up to the bottom of the top mesh.

 

 

Grip the board and twine between your left thumb and forefinger. Make a spare loop, pass the needle round the back of the first mesh (2 twines) and then bring the needle through the loop.

 

 

 

Pull firmly to lock the knot (when using some materials you may need to repeat the knot to prevent it from slipping).

 

Continue along the board until your second row is complete.

 

 

To add an extra mesh simply knit another onto the last mesh of the previous row.

 

Once you’ve made your net wide enough carry on knitting as many rows as you require until you start to bring the net back in. Reducing the net is again very simple; when you reach the end two meshes of the row above take them up together as one. This will reduce your width by one mesh (I usually double know these decreasing meshes).

 

If you need to change needles (you will) try to do so at the end of a row, so that the joining knot is on the edge of the net. To join the twine I use a reef knot, but the choice of knot is up to you so long as it’s tight!

 

To finish off your net onto the ring you simply use the ring instead of the mesh board. If you want to make the meshes nice and tight pass the needle around the back of three twines and not two. This will fasten the net securely to the ring. Lock off the final mesh with a double knot before cutting off the twine.

 

The finished net sown directly onto the rings.

 

 

When using hemp I will normally give the finished net a quick soak in warm water and let it dry out before attaching the draw cord. This helps to remove any twisting that the winding of the hemp brings to the net.

 

To add the draw cord just tie it to the top ring, then thread it through the loops on both sides of the net. Make sure your draw cord is long enough! Leaving 9 – 12 inches between the end ring and peg allows plenty of pegging slack. When using nylon braid use a flame to seal the ends of the cord and to stop it fraying.

 

 

So that’s it, your net is finished.

 

Oh, and for your early attempts buy some cheap twine and practice with that. When you’re happy move on to a better material.

 

Good luck!

 

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(Taken from www.Rabbiters.co.uk)

Edited March 2, 2008 by Crow