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Many of the best materials for constructing bubbling wicks are made of multiple strands of fiber that are mechanically twisted together by the manufacturer or by the bubbler who wants better control over the thickness of his cords. However, due to their twisty nature these lines can present a problem - they twist. This can interfere with the opening of a bubble and prematurely close a bubble. Although some degree of twist can potentially work to your advantage during either maneuver, I prefer to build and use tri-strings with as little twist as possible.

Here I discuss some observations I've made on twisted lines and ways I've found to deal with them in the construction of tri-string wicks.

Dipping Weights[]

If you prefer to use a dipping weight, only very twisty lines will give you a problem. For beginners, some twist can work to their advantage, as it gathers the line together and makes the dipping bowl/bucket an easier target. But I never use weights. When I see that a guest bubbler of mine has the hang of bubbling with a weight, I sometimes offer to remove the "training wheels" and take it off. They invariably prefer going weightless, but not if the wick is twisty.

Raw vs. Treated Cords[]

Bubbling material that's fresh off the spool or ball is always much twistier than that which has gone through the various popular methods of treatment: laundering, boiling, soaking, etc. For this reason, I recommend that if you wish to reduce twist, at the very least you should loosely coil and soak your wick material in a solution of water and dish soap for an hour before making a wick of it.

Twisted Lines and Garlands[]

In my experience thus far, garlands constructed from twisted materials have performed poorly compared to the alternatives. Any degree of twist seems to interfere with the opening of the loops. It's less of a problem with relatively large loops (over 5" diameter), but I still prefer to use non-twisted materials for garlands - diamond braid, hand braided, or piping cord. Loops that have definite tops and bottoms always open better.

De-twisting Raw Cords[]

If treating your twine, yarn, etc, isn't an option, you can minimize twist by dipping each raw length of it in water, and drawing the entire length, from end to end, between a thumbnail and forefinger several times. As you near each end, you'll see it spin as the twists relax. When those spins subside, you can continue with its wet-twist-adjustment.

Wet-twist-adjusting[]

To adjust a length of prepared cord for twist, it should first be soaking and dripping wet, as it would be when pulling it right out of the bucket.

  1. Fill a bowl with room temperature water and add a drop or two of dish soap.
  2. Dunk a length of cord into the bowl so that it's thoroughly soaked.
  3. Remove it from the bowl, dripping wet, with each end between each hand's thumb and forefinger.
    GrabEnds

    Grip for wet-twist-adjusting

  4. Hold these ends a few inches apart, so the cord forms a "U". For especially long cords, you might have to stand on a chair or get to some other elevated place.
  5. As you bring the ends closer together, one side is likely to twist over on the other. By twisting the top of one side between your fingers, clockwise or counter, this twist can be countered so that a "U" is formed even if the two sides are brought very near or touching.
    DetwistTest

    Checking a wet line for twist

  6. At this point, you have found the "wet center" of your cord. Mark it by tying the end tips together with a bit of string, or by placing their ends down on the surface you're using for your tri-string construction, oriented as they were between your fingers.

Note that while you're adjusting for a good close "U", the wet center will slowly change as your line drips and dries. The sooner you can find its center and mark the ends, the better the result will be.

If you prefer to have some degree of twist in your top- and/or bottom-string, you can allow or introduce this twist before marking the ends.

 

Assembling Adjusted Top- and Bottom-strings[]

If you are knotting your top- and bottom-strings together or knotting together the ends of a single line which will form a tri-string, it's likely that you'll re-introduced some small amount of twist. Use other methods of connecting them, if practical.

Other Options[]

Some have successfully dealt with twist by adding a swivel to the center of the bottom-string. I have a philosophy of avoiding any non-absorbant materials along the lengths of my loops, although many people can attest to the fact that these interruptions have little or no effect on a wicks abilities.

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