wide blue tapestry woven rope cuff 4091

 A wider two-button design cuff with a blend of blue cotton double strand weft wrappings.

The warp cords are 3 mm cotton and form a strong linear geometry around which the thinner weft string is woven. The weft assumes a series of figure-8 shapes as it crosses over in the spaces between the warp cords creating the ribs.

The whole thing is made on a small loom after setting the size using a circular mold.

Want to see how these are made?
View the step-by-step tutorial click here.

The termination of the weave involves following the looped warp cords around the looped ends as you can see in this image. The cords are reversed in pairs.

Buttons are secured with waxed nylon thread.

Here's an overview of design variations.

The simple color patterns are various lengths of weft cord juxtaposed.

Check the tapestry cuffs section  of WhatKnotShop on ETSY for this and a variety of similar designs.




design and photographs copyright 2017

experiments with string weaving overview

 With plenty of indoor time and an increasing collection of materials comes some experimentation with a simple style of weaving. These examples are highly textured made rapidly on simple circular molds. Cores are braided or twisted cotton with cotton wrappings.

These were done fast without concern for detail or finish. The gaps exposing the cores offer a patterning (checkerboard) effect. The loose ends are left to create additional interest.

 These take on a more regular form when the process is refined and more care is taken placing the wrappings on the cores. The tight stacking creates a more disciplined finish. This lacks the exuberant raggedness of the first group but has more subtle color possibilities.

Warp cords are 3 mm cotton
Weft is a combination of ordinary dyed corn string and unwound strands of thin cotton rope

Want to see how these are made?
View the step-by-step tutorial click here.

Lightweight #18 cotton in grey, navy, and marsala red where the cord takes a very light influence from the dye bath. The pastel blending of the dye and cotton creates a pleasant color range that shares the semi-transparent effect.







design and photographs copyright 2017 

soft thick rope grommet bracelets 4078

Found some nice soft cotton rope which is about 1/2" diameter, three ply construction. The fibers are a white cotton (probably bleached) so it's really well suited to making traditional grommets. The cotton is very soft so it's a comfortable finished bracelet that has some natural stretch to enable these to fit on over a larger hand.

They are finished with traditional coach whipping detail at the overlap.

 Here's what these look like when worn. The larger size material makes a nice nautical style statement.

Here are some other grommet bracelet designs you might like:

ultra-slender rope bracelets

collection of colorful grommet bracelets

really BIG rope grommet bracelets

Three closely spaces sizes were made in this initial run:
7 1/4" (184 mm)
7 1/2" (191 mm)
8 1/2" (226 mm)

More grommet bracelets in the ETSY shop in the grommets section (color, size, variety…something for everyone here!)


design and photographs copyright 2016

double loop rope bracelets made from hand twisted rope 4061

This double rope bracelet is an example of what can be made with a firm four ply segment of handmade rope. The cotton yarns are rigged on the rope machine and held under tension while twisted hundreds of times, then laid (plyed) together using the spreader tool to control the lay.

The four strands are themselves composed of a pair of yarns so the finished rope is made out of  eight cotton yarns. (Spinning a yarn may be slang for how a story is told but it also is the technical description of rope manufacturing.)

Controlling the tightness of the lay so that the finished rope has some stiffness means these little slip on bracelets hold their shape quite nicely. The thickness of the finished rope is about 4-5 mm.

The cotton yarns are compressed evenly so the finished rope is round in section. The overall segment length is about 74". This is a convenient length for my basement workshop, greater lengths are possible with more time and patience.

The finish is a traditional coach whipping detail here made with a pleasing light yellow ochre waxed thread. The loose ends are relayed around the barrel of the whipping and fed through parallel to the rope, then trimmed off.

Look for this and similar designs in the ETSY shop soon.




design and photographs copyright  2016 

more two strand knotted rope bracelets 4006

 Second group of two strand designs also made from the ends of color runs and other materials I have hanging around the studio. All these are the medium weight cotton hand dyed using a water soluble system.

Check the ETSY shop to see what remains of this collection. These are limited edition bracelets. Sizes and colors will change with materials availability.

 Royal blue 6 1/4" (158 mm)

 Taupe 7" (178 mm)

 White (ecru) 6 1/2" (165 mm)

Canary 6 1/2" (165 mm)

Click here to see what's in-store!


design and photographs copyright 2016

another group of two strand random color rope bracelets 4005

Extra pieces of cord are produced frequently during the development of color sets. A batch of bracelets is made and a few ends remain often not large enough to make a full three strand design. These narrower two strand designs are the result…

Sizes are non-standard based on the length of the remainder cord. Ok you can ask for custom sizes but the color might be different.

See this collection here or find
  similar collections here.

 Sage green made with soft lay cotton 6 1/4" (158 mm)

 Sand tan made with medium weight cotton 7 1/4" (185 mm)

 Royal blue made with medium weight cotton 7" (178 mm)

Olive green made with medium weight cotton 7" (178 mm)


design and photographs copyright 2016

child size rope bracelets 4009

 Kids love a day at the shore and what could make them happier than having a traditional rope bracelet? These are small scale bracelets made from thinner cotton that are just the right size for smaller children. The smaller cord creates a tighter braid pattern with some natural flexibility.

Sizes are about 6" (153 mm) circumference and can be special ordered in alternate sizes if desired.


Dark charcoal #24 cord to, 17 part design

Red #18 cotton, 17 part design

Additional colors are available, please visit the ETSY shop to see the selection.

Light purple #18 cotton, 17 part design








design and photographs copyright 2016

right angle weave rope bracelet 3992

 3 mm cotton braid is used to build this rather simple but interesting rope bracelet. The weft is 9 wraps around a circular mold and the warp is the long ends placed in a double over-under crossing pattern.

As you can see the end wraps create a textured edge and the double overlap a nice hefty thickness.

This example is 8" inside circumference about right for an adult hand.

 A single piece of cord is used here but endless color variations are possible by using hand dyed  segments like these:

pink and purple
sea glass colors 
thick green and blue cuff

Tutorial instructions showing how to make these bracelets is here:

Making a basket weave rope bracelet

An index of the published collection here

available here
Similar bracelets are available please visit WhatKnotShop to see what's available

design and photographs copyright 2016

handmade rope wrap bracelet with button 3924

 Handmade rope handmade "boulder" button and hand sewn whipping detail completes a wrap bracelet.

These are large loops that are easy to turn into what look like multi-strand bracelets by wrapping the cord around the wrist and dropping the button in the loop.

 Here's the compact 6 wrap form showing the tan whipping detail.

Multiple colors and thicknesses of rope are available, this one is a manufactured cotton yarn with four pairs of two yarns each (4 x 2). The yarns are looped through the button and secured by the natural twist of the rope.

Here's a look at the rope machine

See this one and many other variations available in the wrap bracelets section of the online ETSY shop.




design and photographs copyright 2016

handmade rope double eye bracelet 3835

 Two eye loops created with coach whipping connections interlock to form a simple elegant rope bracelet.

Non adjustable size (the eyes are fixed size)

7 3/8" (187 mm)

Related designs you might find interesting

double loop necklace (adjustable size)

knotted double loop bracelet (adjustable)

grey handmade rope loop bracelet

double loop string bracelet with color

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



design and photographs © copyright 2016

chunky fishtail braid rope bracelet with wood bead 3827

These oversize cuffs are big and chunky soft and flexible just right for people with bigger hands. The fishtail braid is tightly compressed on the carrier strands forming a smooth continuous section. This design uses a wood bead with the carrier stands passing through the bead. A tan coach whipping detail finishes off the toggle connection.

8 5/8" (219 mm)

Some other toggle bracelets you might like:

double toggle beaded cuff "sea snail"

double toggle cuff "tide pool"

pink double toggle beaded cuff bracelet

cotton fiber bracelet w toggle and beads

more fishtail braided bracelets (collection)





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


design and photographs copyright 2016 

multi color herringbone rope bracelets 3741 3742

 Traditional over two-under two herringbone weave incorporating multiple colored cords.

The first example is red, yellow, orange and ecru (white) in a 29 part design about 8 1/2" (218 mm) inside circumference.

You can see the tied-off ends where the overlapping cords are secured with waxed nylon thread.

 Here' s vertical image that shows off the color

you can get this one here.


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

 The second example is a six color mix orange, yellow, red, teal and ecru (white). The layout of this knot requires multiple segments of cord and a lot of waste as the tails of each segment are lost when the knot is worked up to final form.

design is a 24 part double pass herringbone about 7" (178 mm) inside circumference

The colorful vertical orientation (I think the light is better somehow…)

you can get your hands on this one here


Here's an earlier example of this multiple color work with a different color mix. 3414

design and photographs © copyright 2015 WhatKnotShop

grey mix color rope grommets cotton bracelets 3641

This collection features grey cords with a variety of added colors and coach whipping details. Made from shorter segments of cord from my cut-off box the reverse-twisting of the cords is terminated with the coach-whippings. Some have two others three or four of these which serve to bind the loose ends and keep everything together.

 Grey and a light green with white whippings

All about 6 1/2" (174 mm) circumference

Green and purple grommet collection 

Mixed color grommet collections

Darker shades grommet collection 

grey and a dark taupe with black whippings

Available here WhatKnotShop


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



design and photographs © copyright 2015

handmade rope double loop bracelet 3646

 This double loop bracelet is made from a piece of handmade rope composed of three twisted pairs of yarn. The rope was part of a demonstration showing how the rope machine works with these hand dyed grey yarns. The cord diameter is 4mm so this has a nice proportional shape.

The coach whipping is tan waxed thread.

 8" (203 mm) circumference

Available here

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

design and photographs © copyright 2015

mixed cord grommets green 3633 and purple 3634

 The green mini collection combines the darker blue-green with loden and lime to create a verdant contrast. Black whipping goes with the darker shades, brown with the less saturated color.

All about 7 1/2" (178 mm)

Find the green collection here.

The purple mini collection features a darker purple mixed with lighter neutrals and a dark navy. One is a simple all purple color with brown whipping.


Find the purple collection here.


design and photographs © copyright 2015

mixed cord grommet collections 3631and 3632

 This collection of grommet bangles comes from one of the many piles of cord ends and odd bits of color that accumulate during the making of rope bracelets. This group is a mix of colors made with multiple coach whippings. Using multiple colored cords in a single grommet entails securing the extra loose ends. Three colors of waxed thread are used individually and in mixed combinations.

This group (3632) is all about 8" to 8 1/4" in size.

Find this grey collection here.

In this group there are both the twisted cotton cord and the smooth braided cords used to create a range of color and texture. The coach whippings are tan, brown, black and white.

This group (3631) is about 7 1/2" in size

An illustrated tutorial showing how grommets are made here.


design and photographs © copyright 2015