MAKE YOUR OWN NETS!

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COMPLETING THE NET

Continue knitting around your net until you have 12 "stretched" meshes (count every other knot as one). Before cutting your twine, though, you'll want to make your last knot a double becket bend, which will hold better than the single variety would. To tie this variation, proceed as before ... then, on the second pass of the knot, wrap twice around the loop before pulling the string through your wrist hole.

Now, cut or untie the starting string and remove it from the top row of meshes. Use your fingers to stretch the mesh between the slipknots until they "pop" untied. Your first row of meshes will now be slightly larger than those in succeeding rows ... which is fine for a dip net. (If you feel this last-minute mesh enlargement will be a problem for other projects, simply take it into account initially and make your first, handgauged, row smaller than the others.)

To hang your net onto its frame, first space the webbing evenly around the hoop and tie it in four places. Then tie one end of your hanging twine to the frame at a point near the handle, and, again working from left to right, secure each mesh to the frame.

You'll use a standard "net hanging knot" for this job. It's merely a clove hitch with two wraps on one of the hitches (as in the diagram). Now, with the thumb and first two fingers of your left hand, hold the frame and the first mesh together (see page 144). Next, flip or drape an open loop of the shuttle twine clockwise over your left hand ... and pass the shuttle under the frame from the outside, and then up through this loop, twice. Go on to tighten this twowrap hitch, and do the entire operation just one more time ... to produce a triple wrap of twine, around the frame and mesh, which allows the mesh to slide through the wrappings. Proceed to the next tie without cutting the twine ... and, as you finish each successive knot, tighten it so it's about I inch away from the previous one. Finally, lace a drawstring into the bottom row of mesh, pull it tight, and tie it off.

That's it!

A WORD TO THE WISE

There are many rules and regulations concerning the use of nets—especially the larger, multiple-catch types—in fishing. So check with your local fish and game department before trotting off to snare some finny fare for dinner (after all, you certainly wouldn't want to have your beautiful new net confiscated shortly after you finish making it!).

But when you do use your hand-knitted mesh, you'll feel a very special satisfaction that comes from having contributed your own skill, time, and ingenuity to the success of your venture.

TOOLS OF OF THE TRADE

A 50¢ plastic ruler will serve as a gauge stick, and fine netting shuttles—made of tough, smooth, flexible plastic—are available, in various sizes, at most craft outlets (typically for less than a dollar). Many people, however prefer to make their tools, and if you're such a person, here's how you can carve your own. 

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