String, rope, and thread have been used throughout history for measurement, mechanical applications, fabric creation, and geometrical design. String figures are a kinesthetic and cultural art form practiced with simple loops of string worldwide from ancient times to the present. Although the frequent mathematical claim that ancient Egyptians used knotted rope loops and the Pythagorean triple 3:4:5 to set right angles for construction purposes is not supported by historical evidence, other methods of establishing right angles for architectural use have used rope and string in many ways. We demonstrate how to use geometric string figure techniques to duplicate several of these historical right angle methods. String figures also use simple loops to create beautiful and playful geometric designs. We demonstrate several new ways to use string figure methods with one or more loops to create symmetric polyhedral designs held in many hands.