Craft Corner: If you learned the knots, try these projects

Published 8:41 am Friday, March 28, 2008

As promised, this week’s column offers suggestions and instructions for making several projects using knotting and plaiting techniques.

To refresh your memory from last week, the two books I relied on for techniques were “The DK Handbook of Knots: Expanded Edition” by Des Pawson and “Knots: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Tying Over 100 Knots” by Gordon Perry.

Knotty shadow boxes

Purchase a shadow box with as much depth between the back panel and glass as possible. Some of the knots can be pretty bulky — if you look closely at our sample, you’ll see that our monkey fist (bottom of the trio) was smooshed a bit.

Select the rope or cord you plan to use for the look you want to achieve: rustic or refined, frayed or finished, and so on.

Select knots that are appealing to you and practice tying them. For our trio sample, we chose (top to bottom) sheepshank, stopper and monkey fist knots.

When you’ve mastered the knots, tie a good example of each for the shadow box. Leave the ends frayed if you choose or dip them in decoupage medium to finish.

Attach the finished knots to the back panel of the box with glue or Velcro, then attach the back panel to the frame and you’re done.

Big-dog leash

This leash (in photo with shadow boxes), suitable for a large dog who likes to tug, is basically an eight-strand sennit made of heavy craft cord, a swivel hook and optional decorative beads.

Cut four strands of cord a little more than double the length of the finished leash. Make a test sennit to estimate the length of cord needed (you’ll lose a little in the plaiting process).

Run the cords through the closed end of the swivel hook until the hook is in the middle of the cords, giving you eight equal strands to work with.

Hold five strands to the left, three to the right. Cross the outer left strand over four strands to the right, then the outer right strand over three strands to the left; repeat left to right until you have about 2 feet of cord left.

Split the strands into two groups of four and plait one group by crossing the outer left cord over two strands to the right, then the outer right strand over one strand to the left, and repeat for about 10 inches; repeat with the second group.

Rejoin the eight strands by plaiting as for the eight-strand sennit and continue for 5 or 6 inches. To finish, cut a length of cord about a yard long. Fold the end of the sennit so the split part forms a handle, leaving about a foot of unbraided cord. Wrap the yard-length piece of cord very tightly around the leash to secure the handle and tie off, leaving about a foot of cord on each end.

Add decorative beads to each of the 10 ends to serve as both decoration and to keep the strands from pulling out. If you don’t use beads, you can just knot the ends.

Small-dog leash

To make a leash for a smaller dog, make a six-strand sennit using basically the same process as for the eight-strand version. Our red-black-white sample was made for a dog weighing 15 pounds or less.

Cut three lengths of thin cord, run them through a swivel hook or O-ring to the midpoint so you have six working strands.

Hold four strands to the left, two to the right, then cross the outer left cord over three strands to the right, the outer right cord over two strands to the left and repeat until the sennit is completed.

Run the end cords through the sennit a few times and secure with knots and/or decorative beads to form the handle. The leash should be sturdy enough, unless your small dog is a tugger or hard to control.

Shoelaces

To make decorative shoelaces, use thin nylon cord to make a four-strand sennit. Our sample is shown in the photo with the small-dog leash.

Cut four strands of equal length, long enough to lace through your shoes and tie comfortably into a bow. Knot the strands loosely at one end, leaving 8 inches of unbraided cord.

Holding three strands to the left, one to the right, cross the outer left cord over two strands to the right, the outer right cord over one strand to the left. Repeat until you have 8 inches of cord left unbraided.

Untie the beginning knot and secure the ends in place tightly with masking tape. Do the same to the other end, then lace the sennit through the shoe.

Finish by tightening up any plaiting that may have loosened while lacing, then knot both ends of the sennit and add decorative beads to the unbraided cords.

Contact Jonetta Coffin at jonnirose@netzero.net or c/o Herald Features, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.