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Scoubidou

Scoubidou is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Scoubidou rather than just read about it. In short: Scoubidou (Craftlace, scoobies, lanyard, gimp, or boondoggle) is material used in knotting craft. It originated in France, where it became a fad in the late 1950s and has lost popularity.

Scoubidou — main illustration
Scoubidou — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Scoubidou belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Scoubidou to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Scoubidou from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Scoubidou (Craftlace, scoobies, lanyard, gimp, or boondoggle) is material used in knotting craft. It originated in France, where it became a fad in the late 1950s and has lost popularity. It is named after the 1958 song of the same name as sung by the French singer Sacha Distel. Scoubidou returned to fashion in various countries in the 1980s, and later in 2004 and 2005. It uses commercially supplied plastic strips or tubes.

Thread

The most common kind of thread used for the craft is flat and comes in many colors, sometimes called "lanyard" or "gimp thread", often depending on region. Another kind of scoubidou thread is supple, round, and hollow plasticized PVC tubes usually about 80 centimetres in length. They are sold in various colors, sizes, and types, and are used to make items by binding them together with knots. On account of their elasticity and hollow cross-section—which enables them to collapse and deform when pulled—they form tight and stable knots. Key chains, friendship bands and other trinkets are most commonly woven, although more complicated shapes and figures can also be created. Most of the knots used in scoubidou were already used in bast fibre, while the creations possible with scoubidou are similar to traditional corn dollies and macrame.

Knots

Square stitch

Also known as a box stitch, the square stitch is the most common knot used in making keychains. It uses two strands of gimp. The square stitch is made by taking the end and crossing opposite ends, then taking one of the other ends and going over the first string and going under the second string. To finish, the last end is woven over the first strand and under the second strand. More complex stitches can be made by using more strands and incorporating them adjacent to one another while sharing the same cross strand. Thus, one can have double, triple, quadruple and more, with the number of boxes being n-1, with n being the number of strands used (because one of the strands is used as the cross stitch). An endless variety of stitches can be made in this way, incorporating multiple rows, adding rows in the middle of the stitch, forming windows, switching to barrel, etc. Strands can also be added in perpendicular formation.

Barrel knot By crossing the stitch, box can be made into a helical arrangement, often referred to as barrel or spiral, and the formed stitching becomes cylindrical as single barrel, but can take on quite interesting patterns when the stitch is a larger one, such as double, triple, or quadruple barrel.

Other numbers of strands

The square stitch uses four strands (resulting from the two ends of each of two scoubidous). Other numbers of strands may be used for the simple woven scoubidou chain, although with more than six the structure becomes difficult to support. Using even numbers of strands enables one end of the construction to be neatly terminated in the middle of a strand (as in the example of the square stitch). As with the square stitch, each layer may be constructed either with the same direction of weave (leading to a chiral spiral structure) or as a mirror image of the previous layer (leading to a more angular appearance).

Double spiral The double spiral, or twist, is the same concept as the spiral knot however the number of strings is doubled.

Cobra twist The cobra stitch (or snake) involves tying two strands around two other strands back and forth. A super cobra (or king cobra) is created when the strands are tied around the cobra itself, making it wider and larger.

The Chinese staircase One strand is tied around one or more other strands. The more strands that are used in the middle the fatter the Chinese staircase is. This is made with different colour strings.

The butterfly stitch One loop strand is put through another and the latter loop pulled. The loops are then twisted together to resemble a butterfly.

Large stitches

Many scoubidou stitches which are commonly done with small numbers of strands can be generalized to use any number of strands. The super-16 is a large scoubidou consisting of sixteen strands woven together. The super-16 can be compared to the square stitch but on a much larger scale.

Making objects

Creations such as dragons, Eiffel Towers, bridges, and birds can be made by putting wires inside the stitch to keep it stable, and to enable bending the stitch and keeping it bent.

Gallery

See also Lucet

References

External links

Illustrations

Scoubidou: A fairly complex box stitch is shown here. Beginning at the left, it begins with quadruple box for 5 stitches, and then splits into single barrel (top) and double barrel (bottom) thus incorporating a window. After 11 stitches, the two independent barrels rejoin for another 13 stitches until the end (right).
A fairly complex box stitch is shown here. Beginning at the left, it begins with quadruple box for 5 stitches, and then splits into single barrel (top) and double barrel (bottom) thus incorporating a window. After 11 stitches, the two independent barrels rejoin for another 13 stitches until the end (right).
Scoubidou: Stitching the thin thread requires concentration.
Stitching the thin thread requires concentration.
Scoubidou: Single square stitch light and dark blue. This particular example starts in box, switches to barrel, and then returns to box.
Single square stitch light and dark blue. This particular example starts in box, switches to barrel, and then returns to box.
Scoubidou: A three-strand scoubidou, with the first part done in a square knot and the second done in a spiral
A three-strand scoubidou, with the first part done in a square knot and the second done in a spiral
Scoubidou: A four-strand scoubidou, with three laces
A four-strand scoubidou, with three laces

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Scoubidou

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Scoubidou claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Scoubidou before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Scoubidou ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Scoubidou

In research
Scoubidou appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Scoubidou in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Scoubidou is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2000s fads and trends, Craft materials, Handicrafts, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Scoubidou outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Scoubidou in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Scoubidou means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Scoubidou out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Scoubidou in simple terms?

Scoubidou (Craftlace, scoobies, lanyard, gimp, or boondoggle) is material used in knotting craft. It originated in France, where it became a fad in the late 1950s and has lost popularity.

Why does Scoubidou matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Scoubidou?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Scoubidou.

Tags

  • 2000s fads and trends
  • Craft materials
  • Handicrafts
  • Hobbies
  • Knots

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