The Complete Book of Chinese Knotting. Lydia Chen
This involves the cloverleaf knotting technique, but an additional ear loop is pulled through every second or more ear loop in front of it. The second last ear loop is then hooked up with the first two loops in the beginning using the pull one, wrap one technique.
Constellation Knot
This knot is formed using the round brocade knotting technique, except that the second ear loop in the beginning is wrapped around the first. The rest of the ear loops are done in the usual pull one, wrap one technique. The last two ear loops are then hooked up with the first two ear loops, also using the pull one, wrap one method.
Good Luck Knot
This is tied using the cloverleaf knotting technique, but after pulling the cord end through each ear loop, the cord end is reversed and pulled through each ear loop again to make it look as though the knot is being tied with two cords. The difference between a good luck knot tied this way and one done using the overlapping ear loop method is that the cord ends will come out of the knot body in a slightly different position.
2. Using Single Flat Knots
Buddha Knot
This is made of two flat knots, with the second knot hooking through the loop of the first. The cord between the two knots becomes the top loop.
Double Connection Knot
One cord end is used to tie a single flat knot around the other cord end, then the other cord end is used to tie a single flat knot around the first cord.
Plafond Knot
The body of this knot is made by hooking up and tightening four consecutive single flat knots using both cord ends.
Flat Knot
This is formed of two opposing single flat knots pulled together.
Creeper Knot
This knot is made by tying two opposing single flat knots, then pulling the cord section on the top part into the body of the knot.
3. Overlapping Ear Loops
Double Coin Knot
This knot involves making two ear loops, one on top of the other, with a third ear loop weaving through the other two to hold them together.
Button Knot
This involves overlapping the ear loops of two opposing knots. The right ear loop with the cord end beneath it is put on top of the left ear loop. The right cord end is then woven clockwise around the overlapped loops.
4. Using Semi-ear Loops or “S” Curves
Cross Knot
This knot takes the shape of two “S” curves weaving their way into each other to form the body of the knot.
Tassel Knot
This is basically a double cord cross knot with compound outer loops to produce a double-layered structure.
NINE WAYS OF MODIFYING BASIC KNOTS
Modified knots are variations of basic knots. Although the finished knots may appear to be quite different from the basic knots from which they originate, they can nevertheless be traced back to the skills employed in tying the basic knots. In this section, nine major ways or methods of modifying basic knots are described and illustrated, namely (1) increasing the number of outer loops, (2) altering the knotting sequence of the outer loops, (3) extending the outer loops, (4) overlapping the outer loops, (5) changing the shape and reducing the cords, (6) shifting the weave of the knot body, (7) knotting a tall three-dimensional knot, (8) recombining skills and (9) recombining basic knots.
The names of the techniques provide a clue to the way in which each basic knot is modified. Naturally enough, the more complicated the basic knot, the more potential it has for modification. Hence, some basic knots have more modified knots and some fewer.
The examples given below will help you appreciate the basic principles in modifying basic knots as preparation for the next section on extending and varying basic knots.
1. Increasing the Number of Outer Loops
With basic knots that are tied using the “pull and wrap” technique, for example, the cloverleaf knot, round brocade knot, good luck knot, constellation knot and pan chang knot, the number of ear loops involved in the pull and wrap can be increased to make knots of different sizes with varying numbers of outer loops.
Round brocade knot with six outer loops.
Round brocade knot with ten outer loops.
Brooch in the form of a round brocade knot with eight outer loops.
2. Changing the Knotting Sequence of the Ear Loops
For all Chinese knots formed by overlapping, pulling and wrapping, for example, the cloverleaf knot, round brocade knot, pan chang knot, constellation knot and good luck knot, a change in the sequence of the overlap, pull and wrap is all that is needed to produce modified knots with overlapped outer loops. For example, follow a 1, 3, 2 sequence instead of 1, 2, 3. There are plenty of illustrations on this point in “Creative Chinese Knotting Designs” on pages page 115–159.
Pan chang knot with its compound outer loops shifted.
3. Extending the Ear Loops
With the round brocade knot, cloverleaf knot or constellation knot, where the ear loops are tied using the “pull and wrap” method, the ear loops can be deliberately extended whereby whenever an ear loop meets another, the former is pulled through and wrapped around the latter. The new knots made in this way have more complicated weaves than the original basic knots, and are known as the compound round brocade knot, compound cloverleaf knot and compound constellation knot.
The dotted lines indicate the forward extension of the outer loops.