Apache Door Ending

Alright, I'm going to start going through as many endings as I can, applying them to a "three loop" configuration: loops should exist on thumb, index, and little finger, and the near thumb string and far little finger string should be transverse. I'll begin with the Apache Door ending.

Because "Apache Door" is an attractive figure in its own right, I think it's easy to forget that it's simply a unique ending technique applied to "Opening A". But what happens when you apply it to a different three-loop configuration?

I'm going to be using as the basic figure what James Murphy calls "First Inuit Weave", "Second Inuit Weave", and "Continuation Move". (See his North American Net System article, here.) For the sake of brevity, I'll just call it "Inuit Net Opening":

1. Opening A.
2. 1 moves through 2 from above and returns with 5n.
3. 3 picks up 1f.
4. Release 1.
5. 1 moves through 2 from above, under 3, under 5n, and returns with 5f.
6. Release 5.
7. 5 removes 3 from above.

If you're interested in learning "Mizz Code", the same opening is described like this:

1. base
2. 1,(2b)5a
3. 3,1b
4. 1
5. 1,(2b 3 5a)5b
6. 5
7. 5T3

(Lovely how concise that is, no?)

Alright, so you've got the "Inuit Net Opening" on your hands. It should look something like this:


Now, just do "Apache Door":

1. Transfer 2 loop to the wrist (inserting hand into 2 loop).
2. 1 gets 5n.
3. 5 gets 1f.
4. L1 moves under all strings (so all strings should rest between 1 and 2).
5. R1 and R2 grasp both L1 loops (NOT the left wrist loop) and remove them from L1.
6. L1 returns to position, moving under all loops.
7. R1 and R2 replace the grasped loop on L1.
8. Repeat 4-7 on the right hand.
9. Release the wrist loop over each hand, and extend.

Or, in mizz code:

1. 0,2
2. 1,5a
3. 5,1b
4. 1,(s)1
5. 0
6. SPR & arrange

The result should look something like a double-walled diamond with wings. (It kind of reminds me of Pippi Longstocking!)


Now, that figure alone is attractive, but it's hiding a little secret. If you poke your fingers into the little knots on either side of the diamond, they'll open up, and you'll get this beautiful mesh figure:


Try this with other three-loop configurations! I described several possibilities (and hinted at many more) in my "Variations on the Transverse Exchange" article; see what patterns emerge when you apply the Apache Door ending to them.