really big rope grommet bracelets 3842

This pair of grommets is made from salvaged mooring line that washed up on a winter beach. The frayed texture of the distressed rope is quite soft.  Despite the size these actually have some flexibility (but not much!)

Unravelling the tangle produced several segments of the material that were long enough to make these bracelets. Each one re-creates the natural state of the original piece of rope by working an individual strand back around into the three part twist.

 The overlapping ends are secured with a whipping detail made from hemp line.

The larger one is 9 1/4" (234 mm)
The smaller one is 7 1/4" (184 mm)

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



design and photographs © copyright 2016

yellow rope bracelets 2863

 This collection of knotted bracelets is made from a very soft and flexible synthetic cord. As you can see the color is a bright yellow with red and blue thread accents. The red and blue are actually individual strands of the woven sheath which surrounds the core.

This material came from a big-box retailer and is a 9/16" diameter made with a soft fiber core so it is very soft to the touch and quite flexible.

 On the left is the single strand design minimal profile only 1/2" (13 mm) wide.

In the center is the two strand design a bit more substantial at 1 1/8" (28 mm) but very soft and stretchy.

On the right is the symmetrical three part three strand design a full 1 3/4" (33 mm) wide.

Available from extra small to extra large. This group measures between 6 1/2" (165 mm) to 7" (178 mm)

You can choose size and width when you order

                      available here


design and photographs © copyright 2013 WhatKnotShop

soft silver synthetic adjustable cuff 2374

Built from a legacy stash of soft 3 mm braided cord this special cuff is designed to slip on and then work up to a nice snug fit on your wrist. The material is a mixed synthetic fiber blend predominately a silver color with lime green and black threads interwoven.

Once drawn up to a comfortable size the loose ends may be tucked under and trimmed off. The result is a seamless cuff that is as durable as it is soft.

The knot design is a 9 part 13 bight plain turks head. Find an online tutorial here that shows how you can make a similar but much wider design from an ordinary piece of cotton cord.

Unlike cotton this material can be wetted and dried repeatedly without significant shrinkage making this a perfect accessory for long term wear.

See this item listed in my Etsy shop here.

For special orders or other custom work please use the conversation utility and reference this blog page.



design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

star knot bracelet with beads 1864

 This is a 16 part star knot made with 2 mm black synthetic braided cord and red glass beads. In this view you can see the regular pattern of the weave on each side with the star knots in the center.

The design is by Norbert Trupiano and is published by Charles Hamel. Find the tutorial here.

Previously published on this blog:
star knot meridian cotton rope bracelet 1739 a single strand knot made with 3 mm cord
Rope bracelet with star knot meridian 1738 a double

strand knot made with 2 mm white nylon cord.
This design required several "do-overs" in the course of construction to fix crossover errors and other things.

Size is a "large" 8 5/8" (219 mm) circumference requiring 39 ft of cord and 16 beads.

Synthetic cord is non shrinking and easy to work though the loops. Note that this is not a true turks head knot, more like a sennit braid.

Here you can see the details of the weave including the crossover where the cord passes through the beads. Each bead is big enough for only two passes of the cord. The beads are placed in the center of the star knot loops. The remaining crossover cords are run just below each bead.

                       available here

See the pattern used to make this knot here. The white nylon bracelet is available here or you can special order one of these made to your custom size here.

design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

Strong and Mute collection on ArtFire

Strong and Mute is an ArFire member curated collection made by SKCreations a mother-daugher team offering a wide variety of handmade items including jewelry, hair accessories, and greeting cards.

On the mute (quiet) side is this Red Leather Wrap Bracelet With Silver Hook made by JabberJewels. Read this artist's bio for the back story and cute pictures of her pug Dudley (say it three times...).

On the strong side is this Elf Sheet Chainmaille Bracelet made by daisy and sold through her shop daisykreates. She's a self described chainmaille-wirewrap-beadweave-fusedglass-holic and this is her passion.

The featured its in this collection is this orange soft cuff herringbone knot bracelet extra large made from smooth braided synthetic cord. This is one of the extra wide cuffs available through WhatKnotShop on ArtFire.  This particular cuff is adjustable so you can work out the extra slack in the knot and make a sung and comfortable fit. Click the link to see the other cuffs in this collection.

three new )strata( design bracelets 1545, 1546, 1547

 New slip-on style mixed fiber bracelet that has been  laid out and is ready to be finished. The blue and purple cords are synthetic, the white and teal is cotton, the olive drab is a piece of paracord, and the black is a polyester.
The waxed thread loops show how the tensioning thread is placed across the grain of the cords and left in a relaxed condition. (1545)


When drawn up firmly the width of this bracelet will be about 3/4".


This bracelet is available in my Zibbet shop. Check out more like this in the design section or click here to send me a message or make a special request.

This bracelet is made with pieces of heavy clothesline and hand dyed cotton cord scraps. The tensioning thread is placed across the cord, then tightened. A pair of rectangular glass beads are positioned in the center and held in place with the waxed thread.(1546)

See this listing in the Etsy Shop. To request a custom made bracelet like these please use the Etsy convo utility and reference this blog entry.

This design is made from a pair of cotton cord scraps, one hand dyed grey, the other a natural white. The cords were laid out parallel and wrapped around the PVC mold. The tensioning thread has been placed and the bracelet is ready to draw up into it's final form.

Here's the finished bracelet (1547)


This bracelet is available in my Zibbet shop. Check out more like this in the design section or click here to send me a message or make a special request.


design and photographs © copyright 2011 WhatKnotShop

white nylon 5x to 7x turks head knot bracelet #132

Here's an unusual and interesting design that has a variable number of parts depending on where around the knot you are looking.

The design comes from a dutch website so the language barrier is overcome by the graphics including an animated diagram showing the arrangement of the parts. There is also a nice step by step set of diagrams to follow. This example is made from 1/8" nylon braided cord. You can find this material at hardware stores or home improvement warehouses.


Here's a link to one of these in the ArtFire store click here if this item is sold out please message me for a restock. Here's another made with #24 cotton cord in he Zibbet collection:  click here 

turks head knot sailor's bracelets in neon colors

Traditional 5 x 12 turks heads worked in exciting colors:

royal blue and electric green (medium)

fluorescent pink and deep purple (medium)

bright orange and sunshine yellow (medium)

inside diameter is 2 1/2" so these will fit a medium to large hand. All are high quality synthetic cord that will not shrink.

See these in the Etsy shop neon brights

bright orange turks head knot of 9 strands and 13 bights

This wider knot is both expandable and adjustable. By adding additional passes of material it will maintain it's approximate size and dimensions. By working up the knot to it's natural finished state it will decrease in diameter as the gaps in the weave are reduced.

Made from 2 mm synthetic cord
Find a rope bracelet like this in one of these shops:

WhatKnotShop on Etsy
WhatKnotShop on Zibbet