To finish your reins you need one more step. The keepers hold on your popper… or tighten your openings… Though they appear daunting, they really aren’t. I would invest in a hemostat to help you thread the cords.
Put the popper in place and wrap an 18″ section of cording like so…
And so…
You’ve taken the cord around the popper and “below” the left hand cord end… then around back again…
Now it is “on top of” the left hand end cord… over the top section… under the bottom.
Leaving the cords fairly loose (you can tighten them afterwards), turn over the popper.
Reaching under the top cord with your hemostat, pull the bottom cord to the top.
Take the right cord and pull it under the top section and over the bottom.
Turn the popper on its side so you can see where the left hand cord is. Take your hemostat and pull the cord alongside the left end cord.
You’ll finish this knot just by following the undulating pattern you’ve created. It can be one “layer” but two is more solid. In this photo, you can see how some “waves” have a double cord… but the one going southwest to northeast is a single. I’ll finish that! You will need to go back and tighten up this knot before cutting and melting the ends.
Your popper now has a keeper!
You can add more for decoration, or leave it a single. You will put a keeper or two on after you’ve put your rein in your bit.
You are done!
Congratulations!
Jeepers, it wasn’t that hard now, was it?
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