Ply-split
SOFT TOOLS / Twining
Ply-split braiding is an ancient craft originating in the desert of northwestern India and some parts of South America. In India this type of braiding was used by nomadic herding people to make elaborate camel girths (belts) and other animal decorations. As the practice among the nomadic community declined, it was picked up by other communities and, thanks to some publications, by textile artists around the world.
Ply-split braiding is a technique made with twined ropes, mostly consisting of an even number of strands. The basic principle is that one twined rope passes -splits- through another twined rope. The rope that passes through, holds its place because of the tension of the twined rope. The rope that splits another rope will be split in the next row alternately. As each rope plays an active role, each component of a ply-split fabric is equal.
Depending on the movement and number of ropes, flat structures and three-dimensional objects can be made. By a specific placement of cord colors and the order in which cords are split a vast number of geometrical and figurative patterns can be obtained. The technique makes it possible to produce both extremely firm fabrics as well as open and lacelike fabrics. The process of ply-split is slow and meditative, because row by row every single rope needs to be split.
Soft Connection Lab introduces ply-split because it’s an ingenious, barely known technique. During a field trip in India, we met Erroll Pires, one of the last people who masters this technique. He gave us an inside in his work, and we followed a masterclass to understand the basics.
Roots
Ply-split braiding mainly comes from the nomadic camel-herding people of the Thar Desert of Rajasthan in the north-western Indian state Gujarat and neighboring areas, where it has mainly been used to make camel girths or belts, bags and animal decoration. Ply-split braiding was traditionally only done by men, whilst tending their flocks of camels and goats. The technique requires minimal equipment but asks for a high degree of skill.
The camel girth, also called the tang, was used to attach saddles to camels. This traditional belt represents a 700-year-old craft that has developed over the years through the exchange of knowledge within the nomadic community. The environmental surroundings inspired the motifs on the tang, which have evolved over the years. The most common ones are camels, panihari (women with water pots on their heads) and scorpions. Besides, they make ihoums or shorter pieces that are used for decorative attachments. Both tangs and ihoums often have decorative ends, with tassels or bobbles. The designs are geometrically patterned or figurative. Traditionally camel goat hair is used for these artifacts.
As the practice among the nomadic community declined, it was eventually picked up by other communities. Currently only a few artisans have the skill to craft ply-split. Thanks to several publications, the technique is used today by fiber and textile artists to create handmade decorative items or three-dimensional structures such as baskets and sculptures.
In her book Split-ply twining (1976), Virginia Harvey was the first to describe one of the structures of ply-split braiding. In the 1990s, Peter Collingwood travelled to India to analyze and collect ply-split artifacts. Apart from Virginia Harvey, the technique had been barely documented before. When Collingwood studied the technique, there was no exact terminology to describe the different structures. His research culminated in the book The technique of ply-split braiding (1998). This revealed the technique globally to a wider audience. Since that moment, it has evolved and been applied in contemporary contexts.
Traditional applications
The traditional girths are made from goat hair yarn or sometimes cotton. Contemporary braid makers use a variety of yarns including linen, hemp, silk, paper, or rayon, often using a four-hook cord winder. Having made the cords, the ply-splitting process is very portable. A gripfid is frequently used for splitting the cords and drawing a cord through the plies of one or more cords.
Being an ‘off loom’ technique, shapes may be made and combined to make more complex designs with the potential for making pieces from fine neckpieces or bracelets up to larger vessels and even sculptural works.
Watch & learn
The basic gesture of ply-split braiding is splitting and interlinking twined ropes to create different shapes and patterns. One twined rope, also called the splitter, passes through several other twined ropes by splitting the strands of these ropes, also called the splittee. After working one row, the rope that has been split, will split the other rope. Each component is thus equal, alternating a more active or more passive role.
Ply-split can be done in parallel lines, for example to achieve a belt, or you can work in the round to make 3D shapes. As the tension holds the ropes together, it is important to work with ropes with a good tension. Twining your own ropes is recommended, but not necessary. If you want to work with specific materials or colors, it can add value.
There are three basic ply-split structures from which others are derived: ply-split darning, plain oblique twining and single course twining. As it is only possible to execute this technique by hand and as it asks hardly any extra tools, Soft Connection Lab decided to integrate this technique in its research. If you use bigger ropes, you can also create bigger structures, making it possible to work together.
Tools
Gripfid
Although it’s not required, some extra tools can be helpful for ply-split. It depends on the size of your project, the materials and the thickness of the ropes. A gripfid is traditionally used to split the ropes, but you can also work with a needle, a crochet hook or just your hands and nails.
A gripfid is a small, hollow needle with a pointed end on one side. It was invented by Stuart Grainger, who upgraded a ‘knotter’s fid’, a tool that is used for basket and knot making. It has a special grip that helps to hold ropes in place. Its pointed end helps to easily separate or split the strands. After splitting the rope strands, you can put another rope into the tool and pull it through the separated strands. Gripfids exist in different sizes, depending on the thickness of the ropes. You can also make your own version, based on a hollow tube or a hollow knitting needle, which is easier as the point is already perfectly formed.
Rope twining
Ply-split asks for twined ropes. If you’re working on a particular project aiming for a specific result, you can twine the ropes yourself instead of buying them. This allows you to choose materials, colors, textures and lengths, bearing the finished item in mind.
Ropes can be made by hand or using a rope maker machine. If you want to know more about rope twining and how to make them, you can visit our dedicated page about rope twining.
While ply-split works more easily with ropes made with even strands, most commercially made ropes consist of three strands. Uneven strands are possible, but more complicated to handle.
Ply-split darning (PSD)
If several parallel ropes are set up like a warp, and are split by one or two other ropes, like a weft in weaving, we call it ply-split darning. The structure resembles tablet weaving. The splitter or darner splits all the parallel ropes.
As these parallel ropes stay always in their place, the color sequence in this technique does not change. As not all the elements play an active role, it’s not called braiding. Although this basic technique can be integrated doing ply-split.
Single course oblique twining (SCOT)
SCOT is the easiest and most straightforward ply-split braid. A splitter rope passes through two or more splittee ropes in one row, making sure that all the splitter ropes are connected. It’s possible to get a diagonal braid, a wave design or a chevron figure.
