The Sailor's Ditty-bag

When I first volunteered on the schooner Pioneer in 2006, one of the truly interesting things we did after sailing or maintenance was go to the local bar, called Fresh Salt, and talk about the traditional skills that we practiced on the schooner. The first mate at the time had spent the better part of his life working on a variety of tall ships, eventually making NYC and South Street Seaport his home ... for a time. Over beers, we would talk and argue about knots and sails ...etc. Also, we would build different things to help improve our skills: a knife sheath; a lanyard for said knife; and if we were really motivated. we would make a sailor's ditty bag to hold all the tools of the trade we acquired.

In researching the history of the ditty bag, its hard to find remaining examples that are definitively dated to older than the early nineteenth century, but there are

a few: a small leather bag recovered from the Mary Rose ca. 1545; a painting by LT Gabriel Bray, ca. 1774, with a small bag hanging in the background; and perhaps some linen bags of unknown provenance. However, those that remain, from the whalers of Nantucket to British and Scandinavian examples, are really functional works of art.

In order to make the bag, the sailor had to use the flat-felled seam that was also used to join pieces of sail cloth together. The knots used were those used aboard ship and showed the expertise of the sailor and their competency as a mariner at a glance. They were made during those off-watch hours that a sailor had to themselves aboard ship. While in the fo'csle or below in their hammocks, the sailors would sew their bags and tie the lanyards, all the while talking with their friends.

The first bag I ever made was a small cotton canvas bag with a lanyard made out of tarred seine twine. I only needed it to hold the few sail repair items that I owned, but it was something that I took pride in, especially when the other sailors complimented me on it. The bag was made of four pieces and was seven inches long by five inches wide. The lanyard I tied first with a Star Knot, then did alternate crown hitching for the handle and then a Mathew Walker Knot. After seeing how good the bag turned out, I made a traditional needle case out of bamboo, covered in spiral french hitching with Turks Heads at either end. With a sailors palm, sail hook, thread and twine, the whole was complete.

I managed to use this when I deployed in the US Navy as a reservist, so this little bag has been with me on the schooner. Pioneer, but also to Iraq with the Seabees; Afghanistan with SEAL Team Four; and Bahrain with NAVCENT. All in all, I've found these bags, both small and large to be immensely useful on ships and on land deployments. During my most recent deployment, I thought that I might make Christmas presents for the team that I'm deployed with. Specifically, there are two active duty members that do not have ditty bags. I thought to change that...

Using the tools at hand, namely uniforms for cloth and 550 cord for the lanyards, I managed to make two bags that I'm quite proud of. The first is for a Chief Petty Officer and the bags was made from one of the legs of an old uniform. The lanyard took me awhile to remember how to tie, but eventually (with the help of YouTube) I was able to get it done. The loop at the top is a four strand sennit; followed by a Mathew Walker Knot; the handle is covered in overhand grafting with Turks Heads covering the seizings at either end. Another Mathew Walker Knot gives way to spiral French Hitching (with Turks Heads again covering the seizing); then a final Mathew Walker before the strands. The strands terminate through sewn holes in the bag at Wall and Crown terminal knots.

The second bag was made for a Seabee, using their ubiquitous logo. The bag was made from three sections, each with the logo from their uniform blouse pocket. The lanyard was more simple than the previous, but just as fun to make. I used a four strand sennit to make the loop, then an eight strand Mathew Walker Knot. I decided to do four strand continuous crown hitching over a four strand core for the handle, followed by another eight strand Mathew Walker Knot. I cut out two of the strands to make a six leg lanyard.

For the bag, instead of sewing in holes for the lanyard, I decided to sew 550 cord around the open edge, with loops for the lanyard strands. I tied these as if they were a Square Knot, then seized the ends against the lanyard. Though not shown here, the seized ends were covered by very small Turks Heads.

I have been very pleased with my ability to do the traditional seamanship skills that are beyond obsolete at this point. But when my wife and I are sailing our catamaran in retirement, at least if something goes wrong, I'll have some idea of what to do and how to do it. I think that's true. of most traditional skills, they're meant to be used "just in case." Of course, you can only use them if you have them.