Howard asked me if I would post how I make my sisal trees. It's an easy process but it does require some practice to get them kind of even.
Supplies needed: Sisal rope from the hardware store. I think I got a 50 ft roll for about $12 Floral wire Floral tape to wrap trunk Drill (or you could use a pencil or pen to twist the wire) Cup hook to be used a drill bit Scissors Needlenose pliers, hemostats, or vise to hold the loose end when twisting the wire Wire cutters Comb (I use a pet comb to comb the coarse sisal fibers into submission)
Cut rope into 3 inch segments, precision is not required because you are going to cut off a lot when shaping the tree. You only need 2-3 segments to make one bottle brush tree for a cardboard house. (see photo 1)
Untwist the 3 larger segments. Then untwist each of those segments into the 6 component pieces. You can tell pretty easily which way to untwist them. They come apart easily. (see photo 2)
Separate and kind of straighten the individual fibers from the smaller segment of rope (see photo 3). Then make a pile of fibers deep enough so you don't see through the pile and as long as you want the body of the tree.
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3 Sisal rope segments.jpg [ 28.99 KiB | Viewed 21469 times ]
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6 untwist again into6 segments.jpg [ 27.24 KiB | Viewed 21469 times ]
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10 Separate smaller rope segments into fibers.jpg [ 23.03 KiB | Viewed 21469 times ]
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