LLX > Neil Parker > String Figures > Jayne
This figure is the same as the "Soldier's Bed" stage of Cat's Cradle, and I suspect that's how Jayne's figure was originally made. But that requires two players. [Dickey 1928] offers the following one-player method, as one stage of another figure (and reports that none of his informants called it "Ace of Diamonds").
1. Position 1.
2. Pass thumbs away over far little finger strings, and then down, toward you under all strings, and back up, in a full twist.
3. With index fingers, pick up opposite palmar strings as in Opening A.
3. Transfer little finger loops to thumbs.
4. Pass indexes over upper far thumb strings, and under lower far thumb string (that runs straight across). Return with lower far thumb string.
A close inspection shows that the string crossings produced by this method do not match Soldier's Bed or Jayne's figure, and Cat's Cradle cannot be continued from this figure. The method below gives a figure that you can continue Cat's Cradle from, and which matches Jayne's illustration (when viewed from below, as in the photograph).
1. Pick up the loop on thumbs and indexes.
2. Pass left index over right thumb-index string from above, and hook it back to the left. As you return, give the left index a half-twist toward you and up.
3. Insert left thumb from below into left index loop, and return with upper left near index string.
4. Insert right index to the left between upper and lower left thumb-index strings, and hook the lower left thumb-index string to the right. As you return, give the right index a half-twist toward you and up.
3. Insert right thumb from below into right index loop, and return with upper right near index string.
[Dickey 1928] spells the Hawaiian name eke-manu.
LLX > Neil Parker > String Figures > Jayne