Quick trivia for tonight’s 7 pm campfire quiz in the Art Barn: which arts-and-crafts teacher first popularized the word ‘boondoggle’ for those plastic-lace lanyards we braid — and for extra credit, which stitch makes the smooth round cord, spiral or box? I love how a tiny history nugget can spark creativity and sharpen our knot skills.
Pretty sure it was Boy Scout leader Robert H. Link who popularized ‘boondoggle’, and the smooth round cord is the spiral/barrel stitch, not the box. For a cleaner cylinder, start with a crown knot and keep steady tension — think spaghetti, not lasagna.
I’ve always heard it traced to Robert H. Link; for a truly smooth round, the spiral “barrel” wins, and I get the gloss by very lightly warming the last few passes with a hair dryer and rolling it between my palms — tight box can pass as round if you roll after each layer. @nicole_joh27 do you ever warm the laces or just pull dry?
Pretty sure it was Scout leader Robert Link who pushed ‘boondoggle’ into the papers in '35. @lee12 for the round look, I rub a little beeswax on the strands and braid around a skinny paracord core, then thigh-roll it right before the 7 pm quiz. Box can be neat if you compress each layer, but it still reads squarer.