Country girls can survive!

I admit it: I am a reality TV junkie. I have watched every episode of Survivor since the first season. I love Big Brother and the Amazing Race. Got burned out on the Bachelor and Bachelorette several seasons back. One thing does bother me about Survivor though. These people know what they are getting in. So why don’t they learn a few basic survival skills before they audition or leave for who knows where?

I mean, face it. You’re going to have to build a fire. Clean water, warm food, warmth during the night--all of this depends on having a fire. And yet, almost all of these contestants actually struggle over creating a fire. The producers even recognize it. It is the first reward offered for the competition winners, just in case they are incapable of getting a fire started themselves. Almost anyone can get hands on some dry tinder, wood shavings, small twigs, and build a fire. Do it in your back yard. Or even in your fireplace. Not a big fire, just enough to prove that it can be done. Weren’t any of these yahoos a boy scout?

This is not rocket science. It really isn't that hard to start a fire. There are several ways to do it. I recall several seasons back when an older gentleman used his eye glass lens like a magnifying glass.  By focusing the sun’s rays on a tiny point on a dry leaf, he was able to start a fire without flint. His tribe members were incredibly impressed. Didn't we learn this in elementary school? I don't know about your brothers, but I know my brothers spent hours killing ants with a magnifying glass. (Now, don't get upset about it. It's a country thing.) 

Once a fire is started, it has to be tended. That can be tricky. I was usually the fire tender when we went camping as a family. The menfolk tend to be impatient. They want a big fire and they want it now, so they tend to heap on the wood without a sufficient base of coals or too tightly so that the air flow is minimal. If you take your time and add the fuel slowly and in increasingly larger sizes, you can get a good size reliable campfire going in less time than it takes for your home oven to heat up. 

 Of course, on Survivor, you are also going to build a shelter--without a hammer and nails. You must secure together whatever raw materials you can scavenge up with something. Many times I have watched the contestants grab some vines and begin tying knots. I have often wondered why they don't twist them together to make a stronger cord.  Heck! With the right vines and two sticks you could knit yourself a hammock which would beat the heck out of sleeping on the ground.

I love twisted cords. You can use them for so many things. You can use your cord as a belt. I have used them as a drapery tie back.  I took multiple color yarns from my stash to match the colors of the fabric and made custom tiebacks. A twisted cord make a great strap for your yoga mat, a purse or tote bag, and a great replacement for the broken cord on the sleeping bag.  

If you don’t know how to make a twisted cord, it is quite simple. This is one of those must have survival skills that everyone should have in their toolbox. You never know when you might need it.  

All you need is yarn (lots of yarn, about 4 to 6 times the length of the cord that you want), a pencil (or pen or knitting needle or straight stick if you are on a tropical island), and a door knob (or something to hold the other end of the yarn).   

Basics

6 yards of white yarn, ends tied together

 Grab the ends of the yarn and fold the length of the yarn in half. If you want a thicker cord, you can do the same thing again. But remember to increase the length of your yarn as well.

Hang the center loop over a door knob

Slip the pen or knitting needle through the knotted end

 

 

  Then, place the center fold of the yarn over a doorknob. Tie a knot in the end in your hand. Insert a pencil or pen or knitting needle through the yarn, just above the knot and twist.  I have found that an ink pen really works well. Grab the yarn with your fist just above the yarn knot and pen. Allow the yarn to run through your hand and step back from the door until the yarn is stretched to its full length.

 Using your other hand, spin the pen or pencil. It doesn't matter which direction--clockwise or counterclockwise, just as long as you don't switch directions! Twist. Twist, over and over again. Keep going until the yarn tightens. Eventually, if you slacken the yarn, it will begin to want to kink up on itself naturally.  Keep going, you are almost there. When I first learned to do this, I would often rush this step and end up with a sloppy cord. The longer and tighter you twist, the stronger and nicer your finished cord will look.

TWIST! The cord will begin to look like this.

Eventually it will become taut and want to kink 

 

 

 

 

When it is as tight as you want it, carefully grab the twisted yarn about halfway between the pencil and the door knob, bringing the two ends together. Slip the yarn off the knob carefully. Don't let it unravel! You can slip it over the end of the pen.   Then tie the ends together and let it kink back on itself.

 

When it comes off the knob it will look twisty 

and messy. It's OK.

Tie the two ends together.

It will probably twist in a lot of places and look crazy. Don't worry. Just run the yarn through your hand in a loose fist and guide the yarn into place. With just a minimum amount of coaxing, it will twist into a lovely cord. Knot the other end of the cord and trim both ends neatly. You can use a little Fray-Chek or clear drying glue to secure if you are worried about it.

Finished cord is about 1 yard long.

OK, Survivors, go find a use for your twisted cord and you may never have to fear a blindside at Tribal Council!