Decorative Fusion Knots
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DDeeccoorraattiivvee FFUUSSiiooNN KKNNSeooction 1 ttSS A Step-by-step Illustrated Guide to New and Unusual FOlrinpampeinntagl K tnhotse DWriottenu anbd Plheoto gcrapoheid n by JD of Tying It All Together contents Foreword . ix section 4 section 8 Acknowledgments . xi strange twists and turns Rolling out the Barrels Introduction . xiii Pendant Knot . 48 Barrel Knot . 90 Rope Orientation . xv Challenge Knot . 50 Bloody Knuckle Knot . 91 Basket Weave Knot . 52 O-Ring . 93 section 1 Brigid's Knot . 54 Door Knocker Knot . 94 Flipping the Double coin Handbasket Knot . 56 Padlock Knot . 96 Double Coin Knot . 2 Triple Barrel Knot . 98 Cloud Knot . 3 section 5 Djinn Bottle Knot . 4 Deconstructing the trinity section 9 Prosperity Knot . 6 Trinity Knot . 60 other Asian inspirations Wide Lanyard Knot . 8 Hammer Knot . 61 Button Knot . 102 Mayan Temple Knot . 10 Triple Goddess Knot . 63 Maedate Knot . 103 River Knot . 12 Cupcake Knot . 65 Pipa Knot . 104 Ring of Coins . 14 Pentaradial Knot . 67 Plafond Knot . 105 Celtic Tree of Life Knot . 69 section 2 Pagoda Knot . 71 section 10 opening the Box Knots for Lovers Box Knot . 20 section 6 True Lover's Knot . 108 Jolly Roger Knot . 21 Popular Paracord ties Kinky Lover's Knot . 109 Olias Knot . 23 Solomon Bar . 74 Clasped Hands Knot . 110 Harbin Knot . 24 Wide Solomon Bar . 76 Diamond Ring Knot . 112 Snake Weave . 27 Single Genoese Bar . 78 Dagger Knot . 28 Trilobite Knot . 80 section 11 Celtic Bar . 30 short and Long sinnets section 7 Eternity Knot . 116 section 3 Petals of the Flower Caterpillar Sinnet . 117 Weaving and tucking Flower Knot . 84 Zipper Sinnet . 118 Bights Double Looped Knot . 85 Spinal Sinnet . 120 Half Good Luck Knot . 34 Cross Knot . 86 Bugle Cord . 122 Spiral Knot . 35 Winged Cross Knot . 87 Triskelion Knot . 37 About the Author . 125 Tea Cup Knot . 39 Panel Knot . 42 Longhorn Knot . 44 Foreword JD first came to my attention when he started to enjoyment. This is especially exciting for those post on the web forum of the International Guild who may have thought knots were something of Knot Tyers (IGKT), giving links to his videos on only used by specialists, such as sailors or YouTube. These videos are impressive demon - climbers; or taught to Scouts and Guides, but strations of his knotting ability and provide as - then forgotten in the modern world of snaps tonishingly clear instructions on how to tie a and fasteners. variety of knots. But when it comes to knot books, there are many. And the vast majority of So while away a few minutes (and don’t be sur - them show the same knots, albeit with different prised when hours have passed!). Tie some or all pictures and variations on how they can be tied. of these creations. All you need is a piece of cord, a little time, and a mind set to wonder. So why choose this book? Barry Mault First, it relies on step-by-step, clear, and easy to Honorary Secretary follow photographs rather than illustrated dia - International Guild of Knot Tyers grams. Second, most of these knots have never www.igkt.net appeared in books before. And further, this book not only teaches, it inspires! Fusion knots show what can be achieved with a little patience and imagination, and provide endless opportunities for decorative knotting ix introduction For tens of thousands of years, knots played a prosperity. But others were created for more critical role in human society. They have helped utilitarian purposes such as buttons for jackets us catch food, sail the seas, build empires, wor - and shirts. ship, remember and heal. Quietly supporting us through all our historic conquests and adven - Much like the development of any art form, time tures, knots helped our ancestors tie their world and practice are the keys to new ideas and inno - together. vative developments. Mariners throughout his - tory, with lots of time of their hands, began The Incas of South America, for instance, may coxcombing, covering rails and wheels with dec - have used knots tied along strings as an early orative wraps and ties. These wraps and ties form of writing— communicating narratives of served the dual purpose of improving the grip the Incan Empire through knots rather than ink on an otherwise slippery object, while at the and paper. They also used knots as accounting same time increasing the beauty of the ship. tools, generating and keeping records similar to those kept by modern day bookkeepers and As still more time passed, knots grew to become census takers. a semi-finite field of study. Knot books started presenting what had come before; with the More popularly, the Celts used stylized represen - most attention being paid to practical knots. tations of knots to express a variety of natural Then, in 1944, Clifford W. Ashley published The and spiritual concepts. Seen on ancient struc - Ashley Book of Knots (ABOK) , an encyclopedic ref - tures and in modern motifs, these decorative erence manual describing how to tie thousands knots conveyed the relationships between man of decorative and functional knots from all and woman, hunter and prey, earth, spirit and around the world. To this day, Ashley’s tome re - the universe. Still other Celtic knots are believed mains the quintessential book of knots. to have represented protection from evil spirits, and were placed on battle shields or near people Members of the International Guild of Knot Tyers who were sick. (IGKT; officially founded in 1982) updated ABOK in 1979, adding what was then believed to be a Asian cultures, primarily Chinese, produced new knot called the Hunter’s Bend. Many of the decorative knots that took on the esthetic qual - guild members have gone on to write multiple ities of religious symbols, nature and money. books on the subject of knots. Most of these The Double Coin Knot, for instance, is so named books, with the exception of a select few, focus because it looks like two Chinese coins overlap - on what has come before as opposed to new or ping. The majority of these decorative knots recently created knots. When it comes to deco - were meant to represent good luck, virtue, or rative knots, this last statement is especially true. xiii introduction So where do we go from here? In a few cases the historical knot instructions shown will not be presented as elements to subsequent What does the future hold for knots? fusion knots. The purpose for this is twofold: The answer to both these questions, I believe, is A) I want to provide instructions for an unusual or fusion knots: innovative knots created through rarely described historical knot, and the merging of different knot elements or knot - ting techniques. B) I want to provide techniques you can use to create fusion knots of your own. Like origami figurines created through the fold - ing of paper, rope in the hands of a fusion knot The chapters of this book are organized according tyer becomes a vehicle for exploring ever more to the primary knot element or knotting technique complex and imaginative knot designs. Fusion utilized in the knot’s construction. For example, if knot tyers gather inspiration from history, na - a knot starts off as a Double Coin Knot, but finishes ture, mythology, or any other source that moves with a technique associated with the Trinity Knot them to tie. They see knots as assemblages of (as seen in the Djinn Bottle Knot), that knot will be discrete parts, rather than indivisible units of in - placed in the Double Coin Knot chapter. formation. All this said, please remember, fusion knotting is For instance, the Celtic Tree of Life Knot (a fusion a creative endeavor. Although the pages before knot) is the result of combining three different you show a multitude of step-by-step instruc - knot elements—one derived from the Trinity tions on how to tie knots, you do not have to be Knot, one from the Ring of Coins, and one from a passive consumer of this information. Modify the Handbasket Knot. Together, these three ele - what is shown, play with the techniques, inte - ments commingle to create something different, grate different knot elements, and create some - something more elaborate and impactful. thing new. Put another way… This book is an introduction to the world of dec - Explore, Discover, Innovate! orative fusion knots, but more so it is a bridge between what is and what can be. In turn, along - Doing so will not only improve your understand - side fusion knots, I present instructions for his - ing of fusion knots; it will improve your under - torical knots, knots that were discovered or standing of all knots and pave the way to ever created before 1979 (the year the IGKT updated more elaborate and creative knots tomorrow. ABOK ). Historical knots are the foundations for and elements of fusion knots, so knowing how Thank you and keep tying. to tie them is important. — JD of Tying It All Together xiv rope orientation The following definitions and visual clarifications are meant to provide an understanding of the terms and knotting procedures associated with this book. Note: All the knots in this book were tied with a six foot length of ¼ inch solid braid nylon or equivalent lengths of paracord. Definitions Ascending end: The end of a line (usually the clockwise Loop: A loop that has a running running end) going up. end (or line on top) that rotates clockwise. Bight: A line doubled over into a U-shape. counterclockwise Loop: A loop that has a running end (or line on top) that rotates circle: A line making one complete revolu - counterclockwise.