LLX > Neil Parker > String Figures > Jayne
1. Opening C.
2. Turn left hand so that its palm faces down, and right hand so that its palm faces up, and bring the hands together, back to back (right hand above left), with fingers pointing away from you. Pass right index finger under left thumb-index string, and left thumb over right thumb-index string. Separate the hands, bringing right index (with its new loop) to the right under right far thumb string, and left thumb (with its new loop) to the left under left near index string. If ring fingers are holding down any strings, release them now.
3. Insert indexes from above into thumb loops, and return with near thumb strings. Release thumbs, and let the new index loops slip down below the original index loops.
4. Transfer upper (original) index loops to thumbs, and release lower (new) index loops, then transfer thumb loops back to indexes.
5. Release left little finger, and as you draw your hands apart, insert left litte finger from above into left index loop, and hook down left far index string.
A careful inspection shows that the string crossings in this figure don't quite match the string crossings in Jayne's illustration. Jayne's illustration can be reproduced by deleting step 2 above, and replacing it with this:
2. Pass right index under left thumb-index string, and release left thumb loop. Pass left thumb under right thumb-index string, and release lower (original) loop from right index. If ring fingers are holding down any strings, release them now.
[Jenness 1924] has the same figure as the second stage of a two-stage figure "The Ptarmigan and the Rabbit" (XCVII D).
1 through 4. The same as steps 1 through 4 above (using the original step 2, not the modified one), except that at the end of step 4, don't transfer thumb loops to indexes.
5. Two loops loop around the string running from the left thumb to the left little finger, forming two sides of a lopsided quadrilateral. Pass left index toward you through this quadrilateral, and then back away from you over the left far little finger string. Hook this string up with the left index, and pull it back through the quadrilateral.
6. As the left near thumb string goes toward the right thumb, a double loop hooks over it, and then a single loop. Insert the left index toward you, under the near thumb string, into the space between the double loop and the single loop.
7. Release left little finger, and pass it away from you through the same space you just inserted the left index through. Hook the little finger over the far left index string and return, releasing the left index. (This is an awkward move...it can be made much easier by assisting with the fingers of the right hand.)
This is "The Ptarmigan." By releasing the left little finger, a rabbit appears, frightening the ptarmigan away.
LLX > Neil Parker > String Figures > Jayne