The cores are completed and now begins the very slow and tedious task of weaving the outer cover.
A chain stitch would finish the job delightfully fast, but if one strand broke, the whole thing would unravel. Being how these fenders are designed to take a beating, wrapping them in an easily unraveled stitch seems ridiculous. For this reason, the much slower, but also much more secure stitch of half hitches was decided upon.
Each loop needs to be passed through the holes and pulled through. For this reason, I cut sections of line off the spool of rope, rather than passing 600 feet of rope through each turn.
The number of half hitches per loop can be tailored depending on the size of the fender. If it is getting a bit tight, simply do two half hitches on the same loop. If it is looking a bit loose, skip one of the loops and bring tighten it up. If you need to add or subtract a significant number of half hitches, it is best to evenly space out the differences. This way the fender will appear more uniform rather than looking like a chunk got cut out of it.
Progress has been slow, but the results make it worthwhile. It has roughly taken me around 1 hour per foot with this stitch. I hope I will pick up speed as the project progresses!
