Magic Workshop - Guide/Tutorial for the Loops Knitter (PART 2 of 2)
Now for the part you've all been waiting for.
PART 2 - The Loop Maker Itself
Well, here it is, plain and simple.
Looking at it, it doesn't seem like much, does it?
This part is what's important, and again, the measurements.
In my case, my wrist measurement is about 20 cm + 4 or 5 cm (these extra centimeters are for tying the knot properly), which gives me a 25 cm board, from the first gold line to the last gold line.
This means:
From point A to point B should be half the distance of your wrist (10 cm in my case), and from point B to point C, half of that previous distance (5 cm in my case).
We could call it "the half-and-half rule".
What about those orange and green lines over there? And that hole?
Easy, those are for the Loops I make for my 7-year-old daughter 😊
Her wrist, obviously, is still very small, and she needs her custom Loops (more than anyone else).
On the board, there were just some lines; on the Loop Maker, with an extra hole, I solved it this way.
When I make them for her, I add a rod in that hole and use that setup for her mini-loops.
So, until now we've seen that the "contraption" is a board with some rods nailed in (at specific distances).
Back then, I took an A4 sheet and, using my measurements, drew up a plan.
As you can see, the Loop Maker has a board to prepare the threads on it, but later, as I made more boards to speed up the process, I ended up adapting it to attach each board to it using some pegs and holes.
This is what you need to build
A board, fairly thick, so we can place the "posts".
The "posts," which are nothing more than our guides, in my case, I made them with tent pegs, from the Chinese bazaar. But you could use any other rod (metal is better) like metal chopsticks, or anything that allows the thread to slide without cutting it.
A drill and a bit the diameter of the tent pegs.
And that's it, a bit of DIY and patience.
With the materials on hand, it shouldn't take you more than an hour to build.
Here's another example of a multi-Loop Maker (just some ideas that pop up) made from a kitchen cutting board + some pirate flag poles from the bazaar.
In this one, you can see the pre-loops, after tying their triple knot and before cutting them.
We've reached the point where I need to upload a video to properly explain how I do it, but it's taken me almost an hour to finish this second part (and it's not even that much content). It's 1 AM (here in Spain), and I'm totally exhausted.
Except for that video, which I'll get to once I wake up and make some coffee, I promise I'll get right on it, for the rest, you already have something to work on to get ready.
On one hand, the " Boards" (https://magigram.com/es/club/beginners/taller-de-magia-guia-tutorial-de-la-tejedora-de-bucles-loops-knitter-parte-1-de-2-1048/), and on the other, the Loop Maker.
It's all pretty easy, but you've got to do it.
As I said, I'll make and upload the video in about 8 or 9 hours, though the more intuitive among you probably won't need it if you've got good logical deduction.
For now, you've got some work to do until I upload the video with the full process, which I'll post as a reply to this same post as a "solution".
Cheers everyone, and good magic!!!
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Well, this took a bit longer than I expected.
I hope it turned out more or less okay; I had to do some editing to fix a few mistakes made due to live performance nerves. I had to reduce the quality to upload it to YouTube (since Vimeo Free has a size limit), which is why it took me longer to get it up.
At this point, there shouldn't be much left to explain.
However, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
I recommend reading both posts on the topic first, part 1 (https://magigram.com/es/club/beginners/taller-de-magia-guia-tutorial-de-la-tejedora-de-bucles-loops-knitter-parte-1-de-2-1048/) and then part 2 (https://magigram.com/es/club/beginners/taller-de-magia-guia-tutorial-de-la-tejedora-de-bucles-loops-knitter-parte-2-de-2-1049/), before watching this video. In the video, I'll be assuming you're already familiar with the concepts I've covered in those posts.
That's all for now. Best wishes to everyone, and good magic!!!
Amazing work, and a huge help!
Oh, one important thing I almost forgot to mention... before making the loops, we should have the card blanks prepared where we'll attach them 😅
Just like this.
All prepped and ready with their envelopes.
And for personalization (which is optional), you can make your own stamps.
Okay, the cardstock should measure between the notches – that is, where the thread hooks on at both ends – the distance from point A to point B.
That's the distance. So, the cardstock should be about 8 mm larger (this will depend on the size of your notches).
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
NOTE: I'm going to disable the "SOLUTION" option (in the video I uploaded) so you can ask your questions right here.
This is the last video (I promise you).
It complements the previous one.
Now, take your time to read both posts and watch the videos.
Any questions, feel free to ask anything.
Cheers and good magic!!!
NOTE: To my knowledge, this is truly innovative. I mean, if anyone else knew about this method, they certainly haven't taught it publicly.
Again, to my knowledge, it's my own idea, but this world is huge, and ideas flow freely; anyone could have thought of the same thing I did.
Anyway, please consider this a gift from me to the entire magic community, a small contribution to that vast ocean of knowledge.
Hey everyone....
Brewing a double coffee...
Setting up the camera tripod...
Straightening up my workshop a bit (visually)...
I'll be getting to the video shortly.
My idea is to edit as little as possible; I hope to do it in one take 🙂.
And if not, it'll be multiple takes and some editing 😅.
Thanks to all of you, if it helps "just one person," that's all I need, and I'll be happy.
If I help more than one, I'll be thrilled and consider it a success 😋.
I wanted to give you all a little something, especially for those of you who show interest (honestly, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have the drive to do any of this). And to make sure everything I've shared is super accessible, I've decided to compile all the info into a PDF.
I'm no teacher, and I'm certainly not the best at explaining things, but I've done my best with this (and I'm sure there's always room for improvement!).
Anyway, here it is:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19MxOFuCcFLebXiNLEHVdn63Yz7PQkspu/view?usp=sharing
Download it if you're interested, feel free to share it with your fellow magicians, or keep the secrets all to yourselves!
All the best, and keep the magic alive!!!
S U B L I M E !!
Thanks a lot, great input.
Remember yesterday when I said it was "the last" video? :slight_smile:.
I did mean "the last one for the day," though 😂 😂 😂
Just kidding...
Yesterday, I left 5 threads ready on the table at the end of the last video (the EXTRAS video).
In this new, brief video, I'll show you how to make loops in just a few minutes (when everything's prepped).
It was the last little detail I needed. :slight_smile:
Your experience and smooth handling really shine through. Great tutorial, phenomenal!
A NOTE ON THE CUT (Upon review, I've found some areas to improve and need to add more notes)
I've made an Invisible Elastic Thread Loop for tricolar (I'll have more to say about this at the end). My intention was to get some good photos of the final cut so it would be clearly visible – a cut you couldn't really observe in the video because of my close-up lens and my big head, and which I didn't explain clearly in the first video.
And there's one important thing to keep in mind.
When you've tensioned the thread for the final cut, NEVER cut it this way.
Let me explain: no matter how much tension is on it, it's very likely it won't cut cleanly.
Why? It's very easy for it to shift, even when it's under tension. Here's what you should do instead.
Position the knot almost at the bottom cutting edge of the scissors (For this specific loop, I intentionally didn't stretch out the knot to hide it, so it would show clearly in the photo. Sometimes knots do end up like this though; it's happened to me before).
Once it's in the right spot, press down on the thread with your index finger, holding it against the scissors to keep the knot firmly in place on the edge (it might shift a little at first, but with a steady hand and some practice, you'll get it).
Next, make a quick cut. The closer you position the thread to both blades, the easier it will be to cut cleanly, as it minimizes movement.
And that's all there is to it! 😊
A NOTE ON THE TRICOLAR INVISIBLE ELASTIC THREAD LOOP
Or we could call it..., LOOP-TRAINER
Often, even when you've created something yourself—an idea, a device—you don't always immediately see its full potential.
I guess I owe a general thanks to all of you, and a specific thanks to those who've shown interest in my idea. Creating this tutorial for the forum is the first time I've tried to organize all of this information in a clear, instructional way (up until now, it was all just in my head). This process has actually led me to this new idea, which is more of a complement, but I think it will be extremely useful.
While I was taking photos of the final cutting details, and because I was using invisible elastic thread to make the instructions clear in the pictures, it dawned on me: if you make loops with this thread, it would make an excellent Loop-Trainer.
It's quite useful for practice (much better than regular elastic bands!) and gives you one more reason to build the Tejedora, even if you don't own invisible elastic thread on spools yet.
Of course, you could make this type of loop (with this thread) quite manually—just tie a couple of knots by hand to your desired size and you're done. But I thought this was an interesting discovery and wanted to share it with you.
Mainly, I think it'll be especially helpful for beginners, as it could save them from breaking too many loops early on.
Cheers and happy magic!
How do you guys manage to tie knots in elastic thread? I just can't get it right. I'm trying to make 12 cm loops (6 cm working length once knotted) for a rising card trick, but I'm really struggling. Thanks!
Here's my loop maker, as promised, thanks to @Zeta's amazing tutorial! Time to put it to good use.
Awesome!!!!!
I'm thrilled and so happy to see you pulled it off.
Awesome!!
Thanks so much for sharing your method for making loops and, especially, for taking the time to put together the explanation.
Congrats, and many thanks again!