String Figures and How to Make Them: A Study of Cat's Cradle in Many Lands

by Caroline Furness Jayne, Alfred C. Haddon (Contributor)

At some time in your youth, no doubt, you took a loop of string and made a "cat's-cradle," a "Jacob's ladder," or some other type of figure by looping and crossing the string between the fingers. But perhaps you were not aware that this is actually an ancient form of amusement, that it is practiced in all parts of the globe, and is especially popular among primitive tribes. And you probably didn't realize what a great variety of figures can be formed by a single loop of string.
This book describes, in a simple and easy-to-follow manner, how to make no less than 107 different string figures, just as they are made in their land of origin. It is the only book on the subject in English that gives a thorough and readily understandable treatment, so that a beginner can follow the steps and make the figures without the help of a teacher. The figures offer an excellent means for developing manual dexterity and coordination between brain and hand, and present challenge to personal inventiveness, too, since they are capable of infinite variations. These games are fun for people of all intelligent children can do them easily, and adults find great enjoyment in them. Two people can play the string games together, one using his left and the other his right; and many of the games even require four hands.
The description of each figure and the process of making it is accompanied by several simply drawn sketches that show each distinct step as it would be viewed by the person making the figure. The illustrator has taken great care to show in each sketch all the loops, all the intertwinings as they should appear at each stage in the process, so that there is no reason for anyone to have undue difficulty in making any of the figures.
Besides those who simply want to use the book as a source of amusement, the book will be of great interest to anthropologists and collectors of string figures, since it greatly increases the knowledge of string games and their distribution around the world.

Genres: Reference, Crafts, Nonfiction, Art, Games, Folklore, How To

430 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1906

About the author

Caroline Augusta Jayne (née Furness; July 3, 1873 – June 23, 1909) was an American ethnologist who published the first book on string figures in 1906 titled String Figures: A Study of Cat's Cradle in Many Lands.

Early life and education
Caroline Augusta Furness was born on July 3, 1873, the youngest of the four children and only daughter of Shakespearean scholar Horace Howard Furness https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... and author Helen Kate (Rogers) Furness. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... She grew up in the family's house in Washington Square in Philadelphia, and at Lindenshade, their summer house in Wallingford, Pennsylvania. She graduated from the Agnes Irwin School.[2]

Career
She became interested in string figures through her brother, William Henry Furness III's anthropology work with Alfred Haddon studying native cultures where string game figures were used.[3]
On October 10, 1894, she married Horace Jayne, https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... a zoologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania.[11] Together they had two children, Kate Furness Jayne (b. 1895)[12] and Horace H. F. Jayne (b. 1898).[13] https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both an anthropological text and a how-to-book, "String Figures" shows you that Cat's Craddle is the least of the string-games. This book discusses string-games in every culture in the world on every continent, looing at the history and social importance of the games, then teaches you in step-by-step instruction, how to make them. At one time I could make two-dozen figures from memory; unfortunately this has been out of print for over 30 years.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

i paid twenty-five cents for this book at a garage sale. this will give me something to do when i become a hobo. hopping freight cars in the middle of the country. on my way to sunlight. and rain. and strangers with smiles and cups of coffee. all you need is a piece of string! a piece of string to connect you to cultures you never heard of. a piece of string to connect you to some blonde-haired girl in pigtails on a grammar school parking lot at recess. you can be traveling in a windy boxcar and throwing down some crazy string figures and in the instant you will be next to her again. watching her fingers move and her forehead narrow in concentration and in the midst of all the yelling from the kickball game you are watching her and everything makes sense when she shows you a miracle. all smiles until the bell rings. this book and a boxcar hurtling through the midwest will bring all this and more back to you.

[^ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly amazing introduction to a huge number of historic String Figures (games). The step by step text and diagrams are extremely helpful, and have enabled me to successfully make many of the huge number of string figures described here. The anthropological notes on the source of the figures are fascinating.

Making string figures is an ideal way to while away time; whether waiting in a queue, sitting on a railway station platform, … whatever. I get different reactions from different people. Yes, some do look at me as if I’m quite mad. Others start conversations. Making string figures really has been a great ice-breaker; and has also overcome language barriers (so keep two loops of string in your pocket; you may meet someone who knows figures that you don’t).

I’ve found some figures easier than others, because real persistence is required not just to work the steps to the end result, but also to understand how to tension the figure as it progresses.

I should hate to think that kids nowadays would get so hooked-up to their mobile ‘phones that they would ignore the simple pleasures of playing with a loop of string! YouTube does have some useful video clips showing how to work some figures; but I find them best viewed in conjunction with reading this book.


This book is an unabridged republication of the work first published by Charles Scribner’s sons in 1906 under the former title “String Figures”.

[Romel Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read for those getting into string figures. It's the kind of book that makes you buy (or make) a loop of string so you can follow along. The figures themselves are relatively simple, but being that the book is about a hundred years old, the instructions will take a bit of getting used to.

[Sarah Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished more or less. The book has a lot of figures. It is an adult anthropological compilation of "cat's cradle" figures, some simple, some more complex. I considered giving it to my six-year-old nephew as a backup volume to Klutz's version of six or seven simple models, but I suspect it would be frustrating and he would lay it aside. Perhaps in three or four years if he turns out to be a crafty child.

[Fred Mindlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The classic book of string figures. Nothing compares as a comprehensive survey. The only drawback for me is that photographs of indigenous practitioners of string art show partial nudity, which makes it a complicated volume for the elementary school classroom.

[Wickedpen]

Really trains you to read instructions... seriously.

[Zara Brumana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly, this is something that I could read all the way through, as I have done with the historical bits on how string figures came to be. I will be going back to it over and over again as I learn to practice my own cat's cradles. Purchased from the gift shop of the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City (L.A.), CA. They have strings provided at no additional cost when you buy they book. The museum is outstanding.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why didn't I have this book as a child!? I was fascinated by all the different things a person could make with a string. I only liked the ones that were totally unique, not the ones that were just a minor variation of some other string figure. There's so much in the book that it's somewhat daunting. (Maybe it would have overwhelmed me as a child.) I hope kids still know how to do at least the classic cat's cradle figure. Isn't that part of our culture?

[Amanda Coder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cool book from an anthropological view. detailed instructions are given for the figures, and there are some wonderful plate images from different cultures and tribes represented in the book. The cultural ideas are outdated, and a big majority of the book is taken over by the author giving mad props to fellow anthropologists and plugging papers and books by aforementioned anthro friends.

[Tiffany]

I am actually going to add this to my Etsy store.