TENERIFE EAGLE

 

 

Materials needed:

 

Eagle pattern

False Sinew in both white and brown, and one spool of beading thread

Masking tape, (small piece)

Sheets of newspaper and paper towels.

Beads, size 8, 40 total, (color to blend with rim treatment)

Fiebings leather dye, (light brown)

Gourd, round, cleaned inside and out. 

Glue, quick drying.

 

Tools needed:

 

Push pin, or drill with a small size bit (1/16” approx.)

Needle, blunt end, size 18-22.

Scissors, (manicure type, or smallest you have.)

Awl

Dabber, or Q-tips

Hair dryer

Keyhole saw, (fine toothed), or Exacto knife to cut the hole in proportion to the size of the gourd.

Pliers, needle nose.

Pencil.

Compass, or something round to trace the hole with.

 

 

Instructions:

 

Note: Before starting the details, using a compass or round object, mark a circle on the gourd and start the hole with an Exacto knife. You can continue using the knife to cut out the hole, or use a fine-toothed keyhole saw.

 

Web Pattern:

 

1.     Using a pencil, mark off 38 equally spaced points around the hole about ¼” from back from the edge. 

2.     Take the awl and make a tiny indentation at each pencil mark.

3.     Drill a hole at each point, (if you don’t have a drill, use the push pin carefully to make a hole large enough to get your needle through easily.)

4.     Wearing gloves and working over the newspaper, use the dabber to dye the gourd. Do a section at a time by applying dye then immediately rub off the excess with paper towels. Wait overnight, or, to speed the process, dry with a hair dryer.

5.     Cut a 4-yard strand of white false sinew and find the natural splits in it to make 3 or 4 pieces. 

6.     Take a strand, tie a large knot on one end and thread your needle.  Put one bead on the strand down to the knot.  Go through the bead again. (This insures that the thread will not pull through the hole.)

7.     Starting from the inside of the hole #1, (Figure 1), go down to the outside of hole #20, then to the left inside to hole #21.  Now come out and up to hole #2 on your right.  Go through this one on the outside, then right to the inside of hole #3.  This sets the pattern for the rest.  Every spoke on the right side will be coming from one on the left and vice versa when you are coming from the left.  Check the inside and you will see you are making a running stitch. (Ex:   .____.    .____.)  

If this isn’t what you see, you have gone in a wrong hole somewhere.

8.     When #38 is completed, bring your thread to the middle and loop

around all threads thus centering your web.  Loop around once or twice more to catch those you missed the first time.

9.     Starting at spoke #1, weave your thread over and under all of them

returning to the top.  Because you have an even number of spokes, this would have you going over #1 again when to create a pattern you should be going under it.  So, on each row, at some point, you will need to go over or under two spokes instead of one.  (Note: To avoid the “skip” always appearing in the same place, stagger it around the circle.)

10.                        Continue this weave until the center is roughly the size of a 50 cent

Piece.  End the weaving a few spokes beyond the top center by “tunneling”.  This means to run the needle down the inside of the spoke strand for ½” or so thus hiding the thread.  Carefully come out in the inside of the gourd and cut it off leaving a small tail.  Since the sinew is waxed, you can squeeze the area together to keep the tail hidden.  (See Figure 2.)

.

Head and Neck Pattern (See Figure 3)

 

          1.  Thread a piece of dark brown sinew about two yards long which        

               you have already split.  Coming from the inside to the outside of

               #3 spoke, leave a tail of ½’’ and start weaving to #38.  Hold the

               tail up as you go so it is caught and held tight in the weaving.

          2.   Continue from #3 to #38 for an inch, (Note: The weaving will

               keep it from looking as pointy as it does on the diagram.), then

               on the next 3 or 4 rows, include #37.  Depending on the width

               of the thread, do this for 3 or 4 more rows to create the beak,

               stopping at #3.

3.      Weave between #3 and #2 for ¼”, going to #3 again.  You are

making the right side of the face.  Go across to #38 and back again for about 3/8”.  Now weave across #1 and #2 for 3 or 4 rows, and tunnel down #1 until you are even with the right side of the face stitches, and go over #1 and #38 to match it.  Tunnel down #1 to the circle, coming up at #36.

 

Left Wing Pattern (See Figure 3)

               Note:  Cut your masking tape in thin strips to designate an area

               you are working on, i.e. between #27 and #36 on the wing. No

               mistakes this way!

 

1.     Weave down to spoke #27, back to #36 for ¼”.

2.     Now follow the sequence of #28 to #36, #29 to #36, #30 to #36, #31 to #36, #32 to #36, and  #33 to #36.

3.     Continue for #34, then out to #33 for ¼”.  Repeat the same pattern to #30 to finish the wing.  (Note: If you run out of thread at any point, use the tunnel system to both end and start a new piece.)

 

Right Wing Pattern (See Figure 3)

 

1.     Do the right wing just the reverse of the left.

 

Tail Pattern (See Figure 3)

 

1.     Skipping #26, weave from #25 to #16 for a good inch.  Now

#24 to #17 for ¼” and last #22 to #19.

2.     Finish up with nine long stitches on the tail from your circle out

to the space between each spoke and back, thus giving the appearance of long feathers.  (Note: Since the sinew is so easy to work with, you can gently move things around, then press the spokes to hold it. Example: If one wing seems higher than the other, or the tail feathers aren’t even, etc.)

Beading

 

               1.  Take a long piece of beading thread and go through a bead as in

                    step 6 above.  From the inside go through any hole other than

                    #1.  Add a bead and go through it again, then back to the inside

                    to the next hole.  Continue until finished around the entire

                    circle. 

               2.   Add a drop of instant drying glue to the end and when dry, cut

                    off.

 

Rim Treatment

 

              1.   The rim can be finished with pine needles, raffia, leather, or left

                         plain. (See Figure 4)