Marlinespike Seamanship

Day 6: No handcraft is a quick job, but I have had little time to work on any marlinespike seamanship pieces this last week, and I really need to devote some time to the project if I mean to have enough for an exhibit in next year's Puyallup Fair. Each of the six grommeted eyelets in this sailor's ditty bag took an hour to install. Canvas is tough, and my hands are old and arthritic.

The lanyard was the last piece to craft, and certainly the most enjoyable part of the project. The center section of three lengths of rope were platted in a flat braid for the hanging loop, then seized with buttonhole thread before the first of two Matthew Walker knots was installed. A handle was then made using a continuous Crown Sennit of six strands, terminated with a second Matthew Walker. A Turk's Head slider was made separately and the six legs of the lanyard were drawn through it before each leg was eye-spliced through the eyelets and seized with buttonhole twist to secure the ends. Traditionally, these seizings and the visible stitching might have been done in blue or black, but to personalize the bag, I used dark green. Additionally, a sailor might paint or stitch his initials or name onto the bag, although often his skill at ropework was sufficient to identify a ditty bag as having been made by a particular individual.