Silkewerk - Bend of his bowis

Bend of His Bowis

Tollemache and Harleian both call this braid a "bend", the heraldic term for a diagonal line.

In this doubled version, each person plays the role of one eight fingered hand, with one person working a very large "Lace bend rounde" [t25] "on his bows" (on the second person's hands).

This is one braid in a set of braids based on exchanging loops between fingers. The "Lace maskell" [t27] and the "Cheyne braid" [t28] are also worked by exchanging loops, but in an entirely different sequence.

Seat a partner on your right side.

Take sixteen loops in two colors, and place them on the following fingers:

Color 1: A B C D - your hands
Color 2: A B C D - partner's hands

Exchange loops on your outer hands: (Work over your inner hand, and under your partner's inner hand.)

Your A exchanges with his D reversed.

(Put your A loop over and around his D, taking D reversed.)

Your B exchanges with his C reversed.
Your C exchanges with his B reversed.
Your D exchanges with his A reversed.

[You're working down the fingers of your left hand, and up the fingers of your partner's right hand.]

Exchange loops on your inner hands:

Your A exchanges with his D reversed.

(No further explanation given. Try using your other hand to pull his loop through yours.)

Your B exchanges with his C reversed.
Your C exchanges with his B reversed.
Your D exchanges with his A reversed.

[You're working down the fingers of your right hand, and up the fingers of your partner's left hand.]

Repeat from the beginning.

Tollemache 26

Bend of his bows.

Take the bows of 2 colors and set the one color of thy hands and the other color of thy fellows hands then shall A of thy right hand go over thy left hand and take the bow D of his left hand through his bows reversed and in the same manner thy bow B right shall take his bow C left and thy C right his B left and thy D right his A left then shall A of thy left hand take the bow D of thy fellows right hand backward through his bow reversed and in the same manner thy B left shall take his D [C] right and thy C left his B right and thy D left his A right and begin & etc.

Harleian 27

A las bend on hys bowys.

Take 8 bows of one color and set on thine hands and take 8 bows of another color and set on thy fellows hands. Then shall A left go over thy right hand and under thy fellows left hand, and take the bow D of his right hand reversed through his bow; and in the same manner thy bow B left shall take his bow C right, and thy C left his B right, and thy D left his A right. Then shall A of thy right hand take backwards of thy fellows hand the bow D left through his bow reversed, and in the same manner thy B right shall take his C left, and thy C right his B left, and thy D right his A left.

[Tollemache assumes your partner is seated on your left side for this braid. Harliean keeps him on the right as is customary. Otherwise the instructions are the same.]