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The Cobra Stitch

      The Cobra Stitch, and it's cousin Twisted Cobra, can be created using 3 or more strands of boondoggle, although only two of the strands are actually worked with. The remaining strands make up the central strand. The more strands in the center, the wider your completed Cobra Stitch will be. It should also be noted that if you do this stitch correctly, you will NOT SEE the central strands at all, so you may want to use a color you don't care for, or one you have too much of.

      As a general rule of thumb, your finished cobra will usually be about 1-2 inches SHORTER than the length of your central strand. You should make the two working strands at LEAST four times the length of your central strand, so with a 12-inch central strand, you'd need 4-foot working strands...

After your "Starter Cobra Stitch", notice the strands have switched sides. Take the SAME strand you chose as your starting strand (the green here), and make a loop OVER the central strand (the red strand).
The other strand (the black one) should be placed ON TOP OF the first strand (the green one)...
...and then taken BEHIND the central strand (red)...
...and then UP THROUGH the loop made with the first strand (the green loop).
Before the stitch is pulled tight...
Now our starting strand is back on the right. Use it to make a loop OVER the center strand...
...then take the other strand (black) over the first (green)...
...behind the central strand (red)...
...to be PULLED THROUGH the start strand's loop (again, the green loop).
You can begin to see the Cobra's Scales after only 2-3 stitches!
One last time: Make a loop OVER the central strand...
Take the OTHER strand OVER the loose end, BEHIND the central strand, then UP THROUGH the loop made with the first strand.



Remember to ALWAYS make the loop with the SAME strand. It doesn't have to be the green, but if you decided to START with the black, then ALWAYS create your loops with the black. Why? Because if you don't, you'll create a different stitch; one I haven't presented yet, hint... hint...

After you've completed the King Cobra stitches, the base of the head is complete. Now for the detail...


Making the Clasp for the Tail

Turn the project OVER, so you're looking at the BOTTOM of the work...

Use one of the Push Pins, or some other long, skinny object, to pry loose the last black band of the head.

Insert the end of your starting strand under this band...

Do the same with the second strand...

Now use BOTH Push Pins to open up the front most stitches at the nose end of the head.

Insert the loose ends through the openings created by your Push Pins.

If needed, insert a strand under another band of the head, so the eyes will be aligned, as I've done with the green strand in this shot.

When completed, turn the head over to see how the strands have crossed to form an X on the bottom of the head. We'll be able to slip the tail under these strands to keep the bracelet in place later.


Making the Eyes of the Head

Now we're ready to make the eyes. Reposition the strands, so they appear where you want the eyes to be positioned, similar to this shot.

Starting with your starter strand, create a Granny Knot (the knot you start with when tieing your shoes) in this strand...

Use your fingers to push this knot down to the head as you tighten the knot. You want this knot to be tied right at the base of the head, as shown here.

Now do the same with the second strand...

...tightening the knot as close as possible to the base of the head.

Trim the two long strands about 1½ inches from the Granny Knot. (Remember to wait at least 12 hours for the boondoggle to train itself to stay in the shape of the knot, before you trim these ends closer).


Making the Tongue

For the tongue, only ONE of the central strands is needed. Turn the head over, so you're looking at the bottom, then snip off the LOWER central strand as close to the head as possible.

Trim the remaining central strand, allowing about an inch to exit the mouth.

Note the lower central strand is barely visible after being cut.

Using a diagonal cut, create a V cut in the center of the strand to complete the tongue.

After waiting at least 12 hours, the eyes can be trimmed closer to the head and the head is complete!


Making the Tail

Remember the end we started the project at? This becomes the tail of the Cobra. All that's needed here is to snip the loose ends.

Like this, leaving about an eigth of an inch. Nothing else is needed here.

The tail end can now be passed UNDER the two crossed strands that made the clasp on the underside of the head, as shown here.

Finally, it's ready to be worn! Awesome!