Somewhat Challenging String Figures

 

Little Fishes Pacific

1 IO (Index Opening)
(or OA:re T:F mo-th-pu LN)
2 T mo bnFS pu bfFS
3 T mo tnFS pu tfFS
4 L mo tnFS pu bnFS
5 F ma-gr DS on LN mt-tw up
6 re T

Do Index Opening. (Or do Opening A. Release thumbs. Forefingers move over and through the little finger nooses, and pick up the little finger noose, removing it from the little fingers). (2) Thumbs move over the bottom near forefinger string and pick up the bottom far forefinger strings. (3) Thumbs move over the top near forefinger string and pick up the top far forefinger strings. (4) Little fingers move over the top near forefinger strings (that go around the near side of the forefingers) and pick up the bottom near forefinger strings. (5) Forefingers move away from you, grabbing the diagonal string going across the little finger nooses, then move towards you twisting the string up onto the forefingers. (6) Release thumbs.

Although not really a challenging figure, it is the starting point for many that are.

 

The Porker (AKA The Dancing Headless Pig)
Pacific

1 do Little Fishes
2 T pu #2 & #5 2DS of 6
3 re F:F pu fTS:re T
4 T mu-th LN ma-tw-pu fLS
5 rTF mo-th lFN ht-pt lTN
6 replace N on T
7 do likewise with lLN
8 repeat step 5-7 for rT & rL
9 tr FN to W
10 rTF ht lnLS & lfTS, re lH (all S), replace lL & lT back into lTN &lLN:kl
11 repeat step 10 for rH:kl
12 lL & lT mo-pu rLN & rTN respectively
13 rFMRL mr-th lTN gr 2nTS, re lT:lT pu l2nLS
14 ex slowly, work S to make pig dance

Do Little Fishes. Note that there are six double diagonal strings going over the straight strings from one forefinger to the other. (2) Thumbs move away from you, through the little finger nooses and pick up the 2d and 5th paired diagonal strings. (3) Release forefingers. Forefingers pick up the far thumb strings. Release thumbs. (4) Thumbs move under and through the little finger nooses, then twist out and down picking up the far little finger string as they return to their normal position. (5) Right thumb and forefinger moves over and through the left forefinger noose, then holds on to the far thumb string, removing the noose from the left thumb, pulling it through the left forefinger noose, then (6) putting it back on the left thumb. Do likewise with the left little finger noose, the right thumb noose, and left little finger noose. This puts the forefinger nooses under the palm strings. (9) Transfer the forefinger nooses to the wrists by lifting each noose off with the opposite hand, then inserting the other hand up and through the noose. (10) Right thumb and forefinger holds on to the left near little finger string and left far thumb string, then release left hand from all strings. Put the left thumb and little fingers back into their former nooses held in the right hand, and keep strings loose. (11) Repeat step 10 for right hand, still keeping strings loose. (12) Left little finger and thumb move over, to the right, and pick up their respective right little finger and thumb nooses. (13) Right forefinger, middle, ring and little fingers move right through the left thumb noose and grab the two near thumb strings, removing them from the left thumb. Hold the two left near little finger strings with thumb and forefinger of right hand, release left little finger, then insert left thumb and little fingers into the two nooses held by the right hand as illustrated above. Alternatively (not as shown), leave the two nooses on the left little finger and pick up, or lift up, the two near little finger strings with your left thumb to extend the figure with left fingers pointing away from you. (14) Extend hands apart slowly and the pig will take shape. Work the strings back and forth in various ways to make the headless pig dance.

 

The Frog Pacific

1 do Little Fishes
2 T pu #1 & #6 2DS of 6
3 do steps 3-14 of The Porker

This figure is a nice variation on The Porker, which you make by doing Little Fishes, and (2) picking up the 1st and 6th diagonal strings instead of the 2d and 5th in step 2 above. (3) Now do steps 3-14 above for a three-dimensional frog, or display it two-dimensionally, as illustrated, to show what it looked like after the truck ran over it.

 

Return to Main Collection