even more even part turks head knot bracelets 3514

Four part rope bracelets are the next order of complexity up from the traditional three part sailor bracelets and they offer a special design opportunity. The center overlap creates a place to run a colored accent cord through the void in the weave. Because the geometry of the knot has even parts the overlap falls in the actual center not to one side or the other.

Here are some other colors in this same design.
Here is the tutorial showing how to tie four part bracelets.

 15x4x2 weave design with tangerine (a popular color!)

7 1/2" (191 mm) circumference a convenient size for many people

 Purple - mysterious just like the endless knot pattern...

Note that these are 15 bight designs. If you tie an 11 bight design as shown in the tutorial your bracelet will come out smaller. If you increase to 19 bights it will be larger.

Quiz: why does the bight count increase by 4 each time?

 Scarlet - "red is best" and popular!

Almost any color can be used to accent the basic off-white bracelet.

Navy - a traditional favorite color for anything nautical

Available here

These and other unique bracelets can be found online WhatKnotShop on ETSY


design and photographs © copyright 2015 WhatKnotShop

custom color cord for special projects

 In addition to the natural white cotton cord which is popular there are many color combinations that produce attractive rope bracelets. Here's a collection of colors that were used to make a set of customized one-of-a-color bracelets.

On the left aquamarine & white; light green & teal; scarlet & purple; light taupe & rust; orange & brown.

The cotton cord is dyed in small batches using the RIT color system. The process is described in more detail here.

Custom colors are available for your projects including finished pieces or bulk cord orders.

I recommend these links that have instructions for making turks head knot bracelets.

Here's a range of greens and blue-greens, another popular color family.

Custom colors require a few days to create. Some of these colors are stocked but only in limited quantities. If you are interested in a custom color please leave a comment or send an Etsy convo with your question.


design and photographs © copyright 2014 WhatKnotShop

pink double toggle bracelet with beads 908

Pink and purple hand dyed cotton cords with grey and white accents worked in a double toggle design. multiple rows of glass beads are worked in between the cord plies.
Constructed with four ply nylon thread this bracelet is a unique piece of fiber art.


Pink plastic beads and loops provide a secure fit. Toggle beads are held in place with heart shaped tabs. This item is available for sale  click here

Size closed is 8" (203 mm) which will fit comfortably as a bracelet or an anklet for someone with smaller feet. About 1 3/8" (35 mm) wide (a bit wider at the beaded ends shown here) Water tolerant made with all cotton hand dyed fibers.


This is part of the design )strata( collection available  click here      to see the other items like this one in the collection.
design and photos copyright 2010 WhatKnotShop

Neon colors pink and purple rope bracelet 830

If subdued colors are not your thing then maybe this bright neon color combination will light up your day. These are made from 100% synthetic cords factory made in bright pink and purple.


The material is relaxed and soft, the size is medium 7 1/2" inside circumference and flexible to slid on easily.

All synthetic construction will not shrink when wet. 


Find this and other neon brights in the Etsy shop. 






design and photographs copyright 2010 WhatKnotShop

crazy cotton fiber bracelet 663

What to do with the cut-off bits of colored cord? As an inveterate hoarder it's impossible to throw these pieces out so they accumulate in a box until the moment when inspiration overtakes reason.

Here's an experimental piece that combines somewhat randomly chosen bits of hand dyed colored cords in a grommet style lash-up. As you can see the ends are intentionally left free to fray. The cords are sewn together with nylon thread to prevent total entropy.

More fiber experiments here: Anemone         wild fiber bracelet             work in progress

design and photos copyright 2010 WhatKnotShop

frayed work in progress part II 551

Another run at putting fiber together in a bundle. This time the cords run "up and down" with the nylon thread going "round and round" (that's technical language)

On the mold there were loops where the colored cord reversed direction. These have been cut to enable the natural softness of the cord to express through the fray. Some core color plus the dyed sheath color come through.

The ends are loosened up and bushed out to thicken and soften the edges. Looks like more fray is a good thing.

Technical challenges include consistent threading of the nylon thread through all the cords, shrinkage of the cords as they are compressed creating gaps in the surface, and routing of the nylon thread.

The nylon thread makes for zero stretch or pretty close to it. This one is made on a 7 5/8" mold so it's a "medium" size for someone with skinny hands.

Like all the other design )strata( series this is made from up cycled materials. Also, it's green. no really look closely!




design and photos copyright 2010 WhatKnotShop

work in progress, cotton fiber bracelet 546

Here's the finished bracelet with the colored loops interwoven with the substrate core. Size is 7 3/8" inside circumference and there is a bit of flexibility so someone with larger paws could squeeze it on.

available now on Zibbet

http://www.zibbet.com/WhatKnotShop/artwork?artworkId=41579






Process photo: New direction in bracelet design using a single strand 9 x 22 base stuffed with loops of colored cotton cord.

Nylon thread holds the loops in place. Ends are knotted and left untrimmed. Frayed ends of the cord loops are further loosened to build up texture.

Here's a close up of one of the loop sets worked through the weave of the turks head.


The "hair" is ends of the nylon floss.




design and photos copyright 2010 by WhatKnotShop

A process to dye for - how color comes to cotton cord

Step one: assemble the chemicals

I use RIT dye which is commonly available at many stores. I like the stovetop method which involves a large stainless pot, water, salt, detergent and of course the dye pack. Get rock salt from the hardware store in the huge bags, rob the laundry for a squirt of detergent.

Step two: prepare the cord

This involves unspooling the cotton cord and laying it out (flaking) in a large loose coil. I always pre-wet the cord in the sink with warm water. I also will do a series of materials to get a range of colors and diameters from #18 all the way up to #60.

The picture shows a single hank of 3 mm cotton cord.

Step three: into the bath

Once the dye bath is mixed and cooking at a simmer the hanks of cord go in for various lengths of time. The darker the desired color the longer it must boil.

A light or pastel color gets a quick dip. Black or brown needs 20 minutes or more.

Step four: rinse out excess color

The dyed cords come out of the pot hot, wet, and dripping color that stains everything. I use stainless frying pans to transport the freshly dyed cord hanks to the basement where they go into the laundry sink for the rinse out.

This can take awhile as the excess dye works out of the cord. You need lots of water...

Step five: hang it all!

After the rinse the cord hanks are hung up to dry out. As you can see the cord usually has tried to revert to to it's natural tangled state. The moisture swells the plies of the cord causing it expand and twist.

After drying out the hanks must be untangled and re stretched. Then they are coiled back up an added to the inventory for use in making the turks head bracelets.

Here's some of the recently dyed cords draped over the back of a couch. There are a lot of other colors too.

I'll leave it for a future entry to discuss the variables of cord type, color, and material and the impact on the final color of the materials. Suffice it to say that all these things affect the results.

New color combinations for fall

Had a custom request for "Tangerine" colored bracelet so went into the kitchen and cooked up some new dye baths. Early results are shown to the left. The base color is a sand/tan that seems to work well with a number of reds and yellows.

Far left: Sand and sunshine yellow

Center: Sand and lighthouse red

Right: Sand and tangerine

Will be working on additional color combinations including grays, greens, and blues.

Direct your requests to the Etsy shop, link on left side of screen.

Sailor's knot turks head bracelet collection #3

The three on the left are three sizes (S, M, L) done in white white cotton.

The brown one is polyester cord, a bit smaller.

The two on the right are nylon done in silver/black and pink/black.