Winding Simmans at Corrigal Famr Museum.

In Orkney staw rope (called Simmans) was used for many things including holding the thatch on roofs. The advantages of straw rope are that they are easy to make and the raw material is readily available.

There is a technique to winding simmans which is fairly simple but surprisingly tricky to reach the stage where the simmans are the same thickness from one end to the other.

This picture shows Peter Leith demonstrating the technique to visitors at the Corrigal Farm Museum.