Traditional Knotting
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Learn about traditional knots and knotting traditions
Knotting is a huge and very ancient subject. Use of knots has been found in prehistoric archaeological digs and in a wide range of areas. Knots have been used to fasten clothes, lock items (before keys were invented), to decorate ships as well as for practical use in shipping, and much more besides. Decorative knotting is still a subject practised today and the shipbuilding industry continues to use traditional knotting especially within the tall ship and sailing ship areas.
Knots have also been used in lacemaking, tatting and needlecrafts, scouting, climbing, macrame work and almost every area that you can think of. If you've tied your shoelaces you've used a knot. Men's ties are put in place with several different special knots, parcels are tied with a whole range of bows and knots and almost every occupation makes use of knots in some way.
Knots have also been used in lacemaking, tatting and needlecrafts, scouting, climbing, macrame work and almost every area that you can think of. If you've tied your shoelaces you've used a knot. Men's ties are put in place with several different special knots, parcels are tied with a whole range of bows and knots and almost every occupation makes use of knots in some way.
Knotting sites
Learn how to tie lots of different knots from these sites.
This is just a small sampling of a large number of knotting sites.
- International Guild of Knot Tyers
- The International Guild of Knot Tyers is the organisation which specialises in teaching all different kinds of knot tying.
- Footrope Knots
- This company specialises in supplies for traditional knotting and ropework.
- Knotical Arts
- Here is a site with lots of information, tutorials on intermediate to advanced knotwork and a wonderful gallery.
- Knots and Knotting
- Here you can learn lots of basic knots, including those that all Scouts should know.
- Knot Heads Worldwide
- There is an informative web forum here, along with a large collection of tutorials, links to gallery and shopping sites and more.
Tools for hand knotting
You will probably find to begin with that fingers are enough and certainly in some types of knotting (such as Korean Maedup) they will be all that is required. However sometimes using the right tools can save a lot of wasted time.
- Marlinspike, awl, or some other tool for pulling up strands tightly
- Latch tool or crochet hook
- Scissors (for finer twine etc)
- Cutting knife - good for heavy cord over 5 mm
- Hot knife or cigarette lighter (for flaming the ends of man made cordage to seal it)
- Fids
- Knife sharpener
- Lacing needles to use for finishing ends.
- If you become interested in Turk's Head knots or Nantucket Bracelets and similar knots you may want to make yourself some mandrels on which the knots can be formed before tightening onto the item which they are intended to decorate. These need not be expensive - the inside of a toilet roll stuffed with newspaper can work quite well!
- Last but not least, a cork board is very useful for pinning out knots in progress so you can see what you are doing.
Important!
Things to Remember:
Remember to take your time! Knots appear at their best when tightened correctly and in some cases this means pulling each strand through individually and repeating the procedure till the whole knot is hard. Also, remember to use the best quality materials you can afford. It's no good taking hours to fair up (tighten as described) a complex knot or spend several weeks working on a belt or other complex project only to find it wears out in no time.
Excellent knotting books!
There are some wonderful knot encyclopaedias and teaching manuals on Amazon. I keep all of these guides in my personal library.
Knotting on Lulu
Sorry, there are no matching results available from LuluKnot videos on Youtube
Buy your knotting supplies on eBay
eBay often has great bargains and it's well worth keeping an eye on the sales there.
More Lenses on Knotting
Here are some more great lenses which give lots of information about knotting.
Knotter's Guestbook
Did you enjoy this lens? Please let me know!
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CherylK Oct 23, 2008 @ 12:29 pm | delete
- This looks like fun...I think I'll try it. Thanks for posting the list of tools, too. Five stars from me and on my favorites.
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badmsm Aug 20, 2008 @ 12:39 am | delete
- A skill everyone should know!
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by Gillie2tat
I'm passionately interested in needlecrafts and write as the Classical Music Editor for BellaOnline. I also collect teddy bears, Sasha dolls, playing cards... more »
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