red and grey beaded primitive tribal cuff bracelet 2483

Highly textured cotton cords bound tightly together with rows of seed beads forms this contemporary interpretation of tribal style. The framing cord is hand dyed a medium cool grey which offsets the red center cords and the red beads sewn in around the edges. Dark blue and black accents highlight the reds for a bit of contrast.

The cotton materials are soft and comfortable. Size is a "medium" about 7 1/2" (191 mm) inside circumference when closed.

 A pair of loops and buttons makes a secure but easy to manage closure system. The bracelet is made from up cycled segments of hand dyed cotton cord that are arranged on a mold then sewn together with four ply nylon thread. Glass beads are worked into the edges in the seams.

The nylon thread stretches during the construction and holds tension on the fabric so the bracelet has as semi-rigid form and inherent shape.

This piece will be offered in an upcoming boutique sale. Check Finch's Holiday Time Boutique for details, place and time or visit the fiber art section of my Etsy shop to see some other designs similar to this one.

design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

red beaded rope bracelet 2481

 This beaded cuff bracelet is made with bleached clothesline cord a couple of plastic buttons and a handful of glass beads. The outer two rows are a mix of red and clear beads with a few mixed colors that look like cat's eye marbles. The center is a collection of orange, amber, and purple. All these are real glass so they catch the light.

 The design has this offset loop and button closure system which you can see in the photo. This makes it easy to take on and off. When closed the size is a "medium" measuring 7 1/2" (191 mm) inside circumference. The large number of glass beads makes this a nice hefty weight which you will notice when you are wearing this cuff.

Construction is with four ply waxed nylon thread so everything is secure but flexible to wear comfortably.

This piece will be offered in an upcoming boutique sale. Check Finch's Holiday Time Boutique for details, place and time or visit the fiber art section of my Etsy shop to see some other designs similar to this one.


design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

soft cotton beaded cuff rope bracelet 2480

 I find I'm having a bit more time after a big rush of orders to make another of these unique cuffs. This one is made with super soft almost plush cotton piping cord along with some of the hand dyed cord scraps lurking in the bottom of the scrap bin. Reduce, reuse, recycle...rinse repeat.


The outside edges are rimmed with a blue and green mix of glass seed beads that are worked into the seams of the cotton piping cord.

 Two large off white plastic buttons and loops make this secure and are easy to manipulate. The bracelet opens up at the loops and is a 7 1/2" (191 mm) inside circumference when closed.

The look is BIG but the materials are feather light and very soft to the touch. A bit of the tribal style made in new materials. This cuff is 1 7/8" (46 mm) wide and will really stand out.

This piece will be offered in an upcoming boutique sale. Check Finch's Holiday Time Boutique for details, place and time or visit the fiber art section of my Etsy shop to see some other designs similar to this one.


design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

under the sea beaded cord bracelet 2471

 Made from small segments of hand dyed cotton cord, seed beads, and a button this bracelet recalls the ocean with a mix of blue "bubble" beads in the waves.

The cord segments are cut offs from the making of turks head knot bracelets. The turks head bracelets are made with a longer piece of cord, then drawn up to a finished shape leaving a few inches of material which goes into the scrap box.

 The construction process starts with the heaver cord shown on the edges which is looped over a mold and tied off. A button is added to hold the loop. The colored cords are laid inside the heavier outer cord and held in place with long needles.

A four ply nylon thread is then passed back and forth through the cords and beads. After it has been placed  the thread is drawn up tight compressing the cord strands. The loose ends are buried and trimmed off.

You can find this design and more of these unique bracelets in the fiber art design section of my Etsy shop.

This example is a smaller size measuring just 7 1/2" inside circumference when the button is placed in the loop.

design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

decoding the knot: bights x parts x strands knot 2467

  To count the parts on a turks head knot follow one part as it crosses the face of the knot and count the number of "over" and "under" crossings. In this example you can count five crossings and add the one you are following for a total of six.

This design is a "diamond pattern" shown in the Ashley Book of Knots on p. 241, pattern #1350

Homework: why does Ashley call this a diamond pattern? Leave a comment with your answer below.

 To count the bights on a turks head knot count the number of places where the cord changes direction on the rim. In this example there are 17 bights.


This design is described as being between a "square" and a "narrow" turks head. It was made to be 7 5/8" (194 mm) inside circumference a comfortable size for a stylish nautical bracelet.

The number of strands or passes is three. The design can be described as a 17 x 6 x 3 corresponding to the number of bights x number of parts x number of strands.






design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

Painting the night sky collection on Etsy

This collection title Painting the Night Sky was made by Tanya from Ukraine who has an Etsy  shop Freyja Toys filled with Original knitted dolls, crochet jewelry and home decor. Connect with her on FACEBOOK or PINTEREST

The signature item is this striking original photograph Painting the Night Sky made by Joel Robison available in his shop boywonder where he keeps more whimsical images than you have wall space to hang.

Another very spacey photo yellow flower bud night stars moon made by Julie who observes the world through her lens with patience revealing the beauty all around...the shop is BokehEverAfter Owl & Nature Photography Prints Slow down and take a look.

The featured item in this collection is this ombré blue white nylon turks head knot bracelet which has been made from de-cored nylon cord (makes it more flexible and soft) and then dip-dyed to create the shaded color. Just the right accessory for those stargazing nights. More like this in my Etsy shop in the blended color section.

11x4x3 tutorial part 3

Continue around the mold placing the cord OVER/UNDER on the left side and UNDER/OVER on the right side.

When you get back to the starting point you will notice that the first standing part and the running part are parallel and follow the same over/under sequence.

This indicates that the knot is complete!

You may follow the standing part around with the cord to "double" the weave and follow around again to "triple" the weave.

Carefully remove the excess slack as you go.

This shows the knot worked up to finished shape with three passes of the cord.

This pattern can be found in the Ashley Book of Knots #1342, page 239

Here's the finished product! See some design and color variations here.


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< start over page one 

design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

11x4x3 tutorial part 2

When you get back to the starting point place the running cord UNDER the first standing part then OVER the second standing part as shown. Place the bight under the rubber band.

At the next intersection place the running part OVER the first standing part then UNDER the second standing part as shown. Place the bight under the rubber band, keep everything even and parallel.

Continue with the UNDER/OVER moves at the next intersection following the same sequence.

Continue with the OVER/UNDER pattern at the next intersection.

Adjust the position of the rubber bands to keep everything even.

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design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

11x4x3 turks head knot tutorial part 1

This tutorial shows how to make an 11 bight by 4 part turks head knot out of 3 mm cord.
"Bight" is the place where the cord changes direction.
"Part" is the cord which is either "standing" (not moving) or "running" which is the live end.

Start with about 7 ft of cord. Make a three bight circumference of the mold placing the bights under the rubber bands as shown.

At the first overlap place the running end OVER the stationary or standing part as shown.

At the second overlap place the running part UNDER the standing part as shown.

Draw the cord though carefully and place the bight under the rubber band.

at the third overlap place the running part OVER the standing part as shown placing the bight under the rubber band.

The cords should be parallel and even.

                              go to page two >


design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

Jewelry Box collection on Etsy

This cool collection Jewelry Box was put together by Jane Kilpatrick Schott a self described interior Decorator, Textile Whore, Pillow Empress & High End Scavenger. She has an Etsy shop janeschott
Empress of The Eye filled with pillows. Go ahead, sleep on it...
I think this is cool because she included this Bead Embroidery Bracelet made by Évi Csizmadia Lajosné (no I'm not going to try and pronounce this...) which is part of an inspired collection of work in her Etsy shop Vicus. It has awesome glass spikes which have to be the first I've seen.

I also like the design of this Five Hammered Stacked 1mm Band Ring made by Neta Wolpe part of her Etsy shop NetaJewelry filled with handmade jewelry designer gold wedding bands and lots of other elegant goodies. Find her on the web at Neta Wolpe - Jewelry
The featured item in this collection (thank you Jane!) is this rope nautical bracelet made with traditional marlinspike know-how. The cotton cord is a nice hefty material and the waxed thread was used for securing the frayed ends of lines back in the day aboard the clipper ships. This is a unique adjustable  design that expands to fit over a big hand, then you tug the loop end and secure it with the monkey fist knot reducing the size to a comfortable loose fit. See size and color variations of this bracelet in the nautical knot bracelets section of my Etsy shop.

even part turks head knot bracelets with color accents 2453 2454 2455

 Three color variations based on a narrow turks head knot bracelet design which uses an even number of parts. In these examples there are four (4) parts which creates a center overlap pattern where the colored cord can be placed.
This example (#2454) uses a 15 bight pattern about 6 1/4" (158 mm) inside circumference and a light blue accent. Would be a size "small".
Available here 2454

This example (#2453) uses a 17 bight pattern about 7" (178 mm) inside circumference and a grey accent.
The more common three part rope bracelets are examples of the odd number of part knots. These do not have the center overlap like the even part patterns. Instead they have the ridge formed by the crossing parts.
Available here 2453

This example (#2455) uses a 15 bight pattern about 6 3/4" (172 mm) inside circumference and a tangerine yellow accent.

Illustrated instructions can be bound in the Ashley Book of Knots (ABOK) page 239 - 240, pattern numbers 1342 and 1345
Available here 2455 in my Etsy shop

design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop

rainbow rope bracelets

A rainbow of colors hand dyed in 100% cotton cord and made into super cool rope bracelets. This batch is a size "small" made to fit most teens and smaller adults.

 Colors (left to right):
purple
navy blue
fog grey
walnut taupe
starboard green
bright yellow
tangerine orange
fuchsia pink
lighthouse red

Find the entire collection here




design and photographs © copyright 2012 WhatKnotShop