Fun with Chinese Knotting - Making Your Own Fashion Accessories & Accents

Fun with chinese Knotting-(Berkeiey)

D1006-54 -- 4225 --

01 Resurg of Ch Knot (4-26)FIN_ 10/16/06 7:17 PM Page 13

Fun with chinese Knotting-(Berkeiey)

D1006-54 -- 4225 --

01 Resurg of Ch Knot (4-26)FIN_ 10/16/06 7:16 PM Page 13

A necklace created by the author. Once you have

mastered the basic skills, you can then apply the

formation skills freely to create other graceful

and elegant accessories and ornaments.

See project 129 on page 157 for instructions on

making this necklace.

9

8

employed; that is, the thickest or hardest cord should be tied first, followed by the

second cord, third cord, etc. Each cord should be inserted in its proper place in the

design before all are tightened.

Knotting multiple cords separately

When knotting multiple cords as one, on reaching the outer loop one or several of

the cords can be used to produce outer loops or side loops, thus adding another vari-

ation. For example, in the cloverleaf knot tied with three different colored cords in

diagram 8, the three outer loops are formed of different colored cord. Similarly, in the

pan changknot tied with four different colored cords in diagram 9, the outer loops

are highlighted with a number of color combinations. In addition, all sorts of side

loops of different colors can be created with the lengthened outer loops.

The most critical part of knotting is, of course, the tightening of the knots, espe-

cially when multiple colored cords are used. It is necessary, first of all, to determine

which cords are to be pulled (usually indicated by black arrows on the step-by-step

diagrams). A gentle, even pressure should be applied to make sure that no twists or

kinks develop. The body of the knot should always be tightened first before pulling

out the slack, loop by loop, until the cord ends are reached. It is important not to let

the body of the knot loosen, or its shape will be distorted.

BASIC SKILLS 13

TB