The Butterfly Weave, or as some call it the "Impossible" Weave, is not as impossible as most believe. It is actually very simple to at least begin to attempt once you understand how it works. So here it goes:


1) First one must master both the Forward and Reverse Thread the Needle.

2) After you have those two moves down, just keep practicing them until you can do them in your sleep. In fact why not practice right now while I explain how a Butterfly Weave works.

3) To start out I will tell you that all those people who have ever said that a Butterfly Weave is just a normal 3 Beat Weave with the strings going in opposite directions are only 1/3 correct. The Butterfly Weave is a triple inversion of the normal 3 Beat. Let me explain:

When I started I began with the forward TTN on my right side which is not hard to do; in fact one can keep it on one side of their body infinitely if they so wish. I went over the fundamentals of the 3 Beat Weave in my head: "Over Under Cross." Finally I got it to cross with my left hand leading, but what's this?! After I crossed over and tried the same "Over Under Cross", the strings were tangling every time and never looked as though they could ever avoid each other.

What happens is when you cross over the direction of the TTN inverts causing you to take on the motions of a Reverse 3 Beat Weave! So "Under Over Cross" is the pattern instead. Tricky huh?

4) Once I recognized this triple inversion it gave me the chance to practice the Butterfly Weave. The three inversions in case you're counting are:

  • Strings moving in opposite directions
  • Direction of TTN is reversed every time you switch sides of your body
  • The pattern used is half Forward 3 Beat and half Reverse 3 Beat.


5) The only remaining hurdle for me was to get the right hand patterns down so that when the weave is on my right side I crossover with my right hand leading; and when the weave is on my left side, I crossover with my left hand leading. I also seemed to sometimes accidentally fall into a 5 Beat Butterfly Weave which isn't wrong but if you want a 3 Beat Weave to be a 3 Beat that can't be happening.

- Written by Buddha

 

 

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