Gripfids for Ply-Splitting | Ply-Splitting Needles

Tablet Weaving and Ply-Splitting Books, Tools & Kits

[Gripfids and the Little Mermaid gripfid holder]

Gripfids -- Ply-Splitting Needles
$ 12.00 each including shipping

Needle sizes 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 10.5
Please order gripfids by needle size.

A gripfid is the best tool for ply-splitting -- all of my students prefer it! It has a pointed end to easily split the plies, and a channel for the cord. It grips the cord as you pull it through other cords.

We have been selling gripfids since 2001, when John started fabricating them from brass tubing with guidance from the inventor, Stuart Grainger (see below). In 2008, John started experimenting with hollow knitting needles instead of tubing, after learning about a type of gripfid offered by Louise French . We love the idea because it simplifes production.

When John started making gripfids from aluminum knitting needles, he discovered that in smaller sizes, they aren't hollow. A search of the Internet for "hollow knitting needles" quickly led him to Knit Picks and their hollow double-pointed nickel-plated brass needles. John is now using these to make gripfids.

The late British knotting expert Stuart Grainger invented the gripfid, based on a sailor's fid. You can find instructions and photos for his method of making gripfids in his book, self-published in 1997, Knotted Fabrics (ISBN 0-9530398-0-3), page 71-74. When John started making gripfids, Stuart generously gave John advice about how to make them.

Click here to go to my Instructional Videos page where you can watch John's video on how he makes gripfids from hollow knitting needles

Little Mermaid Gripfid Holder

Prices include shipping.

$12.00 ..... Kit with instructions and artist-made cords

$3.00 ..... Instructions only in PDF format , if you want to make your own cords.

Make this cute little holder for your gripfid and learn ply-splitting techniques at the same time. The knob on your gripfid becomes the little mermaid's head. Use a size 9 gripfid to make the mermaid (gripfid sold separately).

This kit contains cords from paper ribbon, and complete instructions for the design shown, as well as suggestions for variations.

I will make 4-ply cords for you from a paper ribbon by Berwick called Wraphia II. You will receive 3 cords, approximately 120" long, which you will tape and cut according to the instructions. You may choose up to three different colors from the Color Chart for Paper Cords below. When all cords are the same color/value, the texture of the ply-splitting is emphasized. If you use more than one color, a stripe pattern will spiral around the tubes. The structures used to make the Little Mermaid are POT (plain oblique twining) and SCOT (single-course oblique twining).

When ordering, please write "Little Mermaid Kit", and color names.

Color Chart -- Paper Cords for Ply-Splitting
This color chart shows paper cords, suitable for use with a size 9 gripfid. I use Wraphia II paper ribbon by Berwick to make these cords.