Thread Pearsall's Gossamer purple silk, well waxed (one spool)
Rib Magpie tail fibres (two fibres)
Body Pearsall's Gossamer purple silk (the working silk)
Hackle Starling neck or dark body feather (one feather)
How to tie it
Run the waxed purple silk in about a millimetre and a half behind the eye and work down to the point of the hook, leaving a long waste tag hanging. That waste tag is the rib, so do not trim it.
Tear off two magpie tail fibres and tie them in by the tip with a single turn over, pulled right in, then take the thread back up the shank.
Wrap the silk body up the shank, then twist the magpie fibres round the waste thread and wind them up as the rib, twisting again as you go so they stay together. Two turns to hold, then trim.
Draw your fingers back through the magpie so the fibres lay back along the body.
Take a dark starling feather from the back of the neck where it runs onto the shoulder, strip away what you do not need, and tie it in by the tip with the white tip removed, leaving a millimetre of stem to grip.
Wind the hackle with the face of the feather towards the eye so the natural curve of the fibres lays back over the hook, two or three turns, working forward without catching the fibres already wound.
Sweep the fibres back, take a turn over them, then a couple of turns to finish. Take any excess wax off with a fingernail, build a small head and whip finish.
A touch of varnish at the head if you like, though the wax gives plenty of grip on its own.