The Art of String Figures

Rooted in tribal customs and cultural traditions from around the world, making string figures is an ancient pastime that continues to charm people of all ages. This compilation of projects from String Figure Magazine presents easy-to-follow photographs and simple, step-by-step directions for creating more than two dozen captivating string figures that can jump, flip, and perform other tricks. In addition to basic instructions on how to get started, this guide features brief accounts of each figure’s historical background. They include Kidnapped Baby and Broken Home, Mended Home from Hawaii, A Flock of Birds and Old Man Chewing from the Solomon Islands, and the Australian Setting Sun. From Congo come Leopard’s Mouth,
Rubber Band from Tibet, and from India, Scissors. Other figures spotlight the traditions of North America’s Navajo and Kwakiutl peoples and natives of Brazil, Guyana, and Argentina. A great travel pastime and on-the-go activity, making string figures is a delightful, inexpensive, and easily acquired hobby. AUTHOR: The International String Figure Association (ISFA) is a small, not-for-profit organisation founded in 1978 by Japanese mathematician Hiroshi Noguchi and Anglican missionary Philip Noble. ISFA gathers, preserves, and distributes string figure traditions and encourages the invention of new figures.