West County Whipping or West Country Whipping?

 

The Ashley Book of Knots by Clifford W. Ashley.

The ever reliable Ashley Book of Knots describes a number of ways of finishing cords.  The method I use is West Country Whipping. It is described on page 528.  According to Ashley, it was named in 1848. However, in subsequent books such as the British Admiralty Manual of Seamanship it was renamed West County Whipping. 

It is a sturdy way of ending a braid or band. Its structure is secured by the regular half knot so that if any strand breaks it will still hold and the whipping replaced. 

This is the whipped end of the Bookmark of Kells project in my blog for May 2024. This project appears in Little Looms Summer 2024.

It is very easy to do.  It consists of a series of half knots finished with a reef knot. This short video shows the process.

Start by tightening the end of the cord or band by pulling on the weft. 

Take a short length of yarn sufficient for making the binding.

1. Tie it with a half knot.
2. Turn the band or cord over and tie another half knot.

These two moves make the binding.  To finish, tie a reef knot. 

This binding is very secure. It can be used for bands, cords and tassels.

narrow bands

Tassels can be tied with this type of whipping.

binding a tassel.

Here is the link to the YouTube video. 

West Country Whipping for bookmark

https://youtu.be/kp5nrA7DLAI

Susan J Foulkes  August 2024