Tying it all up

[Jaja]

I also mix tying material according to situation and purpose - for small pieces and "tails" I use rubber bands, for bigger one cotton/hemp string/twine that I reuse till they become weak from exposure to bleach.

[deb]

You found sinew at Michael's? I can't find anything at Michael's except cheap beads for my kids' craft projects. Where/what section?

[fiberartist219]

I am not a fan of sinew. I usually use rubber bands, but next week, I'm going to experiment with dental floss. Before that I was using some unknown synthetic yarn. I like threads that don't take up the dye, so I can find them to cut them off. Anyway, I am going to try switching to dental floss so I can sew some more intricate shibori designs.

[Releaf]

The sinew at Michael's was in the leatherworking section, which is a very small section.  I must admit we haven't bought any there in a while, so I don't know whether they still have it.  It was pricey, of course, so we always used a coupon.

[digitalcanvasimages]

As far as tying a knot goes, my husband taught me this:

When you tie it the first time, go around the tree not once, but four times. Then finish the knot. Does that make sense? I find I don't need a finger when I do it that way.

[Jaja]

I think that knot is called postal knot here, not sure about it.
I use two kamosage knots - as I've learned from Yoshiko Wadda's book about Shibori.

[digitalcanvasimages]

That makes sense. I started using it when tying bows on gifts.

[dyejoint]

I use thin artificial sinew, and don't do anything particularly sassy with knots. A little bit of pressure, and the sinew sticks together.

If anything, I keep washout in mind when binding things up - I rarely have more than one knot on an item, so I'm only going at the cloth with a seam ripper once, then unwinding.