Fun with chinese Knotting-(Berkeiey)
D1006-54 -- 4225 --02 Lvng w- Ch Knot (27-54)FIN_ 10/17/06 10:02 PM Page 27
Fun with chinese Knotting-(Berkeiey)
D1006-54 -- 4225 --02 Lvng w- Ch Knot (27-54)FIN_ 10/17/06 10:00 PM Page 27
Living With Chinese Knots
In the past, Chinese knots were pri-
marily used to enhance the objects
they adorned, such as wind chimes,
palace lanterns, spectacle cases, fans,
jade pendants, seals and tobacco
pouches, or were specially made as
wall hangings for festive occasions
and rites of passage. They were thus
rather limited in their application
and their beauty often went unno-
ticed. Even today, the items that are
available on the market made with
Chinese knots lack variety, and most-
ly comprise bracelets and belts with
unimaginative designs.
This chapter makes a break-
through in expanding the range of
application of Chinese knots. It illus-
trates 123 innovative ways of using
knots for personal adornment – as
hair ornaments, hat accessories, ear-
rings, necklaces, pendants, decoration
on clothes and footwear, belts, brace-
lets and rings – as well as accents on
other items in daily use. The section is
followed by instructions for making
nine basic knots and nineteen new
compound knots as well as five tassels
to embellish the knots.
Readers can browse through these
new designs and refer to the illustra-
tions on pages 118–154 to learn
how to make them. With the assis-
tance of the principles in designing
discussed in the last section, you may
be inspired to design new creative
knots and further enrich our world of
Chinese knotting.Chinese knots can add a touch of Oriental delicacy to even the latest fashions, subtly enhancing the
appeal of anything they grace. More than mere eye-catchers, many are ripe with symbolic connotations,
expressing wishes for good fortune and wealth and the joys of matrimony.27TB