beaded turks head knot rope bracelet

Here's a 5 x 17 made with cotton cable cord and real glass beads worked into the weave. The beads are located in the gaps between the crossings on one of the two strands of cord.

Off white and light green glass beads is a subtle color combination however the glass beads gives the bracelet a bit of heft and mass.

The cotton cord will shrink if/when wet just like the non beaded bracelets. The cord ends are stitched to prevent unravelling.

In this piece the weave is drawn up fairly snug which causes the beads to pop out of the gaps that would be left if the knot was left in a more relaxed condition.

The beads are very smooth so they won't catch on clothing.

check your slip-on size click here then select your favorite from one of these online shops:
WhatKnotShop on Etsy
WhatKnotShop on Zibbet

new stuff in the works

No pictures yet but new stuff is in process including a new light grey cord that blends well with natural white in both wide and narrow designs; Two new )strata( design cuffs one in greens and black another in tans, turquoise, and greens; a couple of synthetic 9 x 22 double diamond patterns.

For now here's a bright fuchsia 5 x 17 with real glass beads made with cotton cord for a nice snug fit after bathing or swimming.

check your slip-on size click here then select your favorite from one of these online shops:
WhatKnotShop on Etsy
WhatKnotShop on Zibbet

sailor knot bracelet made with high tech spyder line

Went to a high priced marine supply store and found some premium high-strength nylon material. This stuff is made by New England Ropes right here in the USA.

It's a 2 mm diameter woven sheath over a synthetic core. Color "Mango" which is close to orange with red and blue flecks.

The color is a bit washed out in the photos.

The piece to the left is a 17 x 5 x 3 double diamond pattern worked on a 7 1/2" mold. This brings the braid to an almost 90 degree crossing for an adult "medium" slip-on size.


The nylon is very smooth so unlike cotton this piece can be worked up to a smaller diameter without too much effort. There is reduced friction between strands which makes it  easy to pull more slack from the knot.

Shrinkage would not be an issue due to the synthetic materials although there will be some absorption. There is no stretch to this either. The "spyder" line is tightly woven and the core is dense. Maybe something to try for the next web...

check your slip-on size click here then select your favorite from one of these online shops:
WhatKnotShop on Etsy
WhatKnotShop on Zibbet


Design and photos copyright 2010 WhatKnotShop

square knot cotton bangle bracelets made with small cotton cord

Being away from the knot shop studio forced me to try some new (old) techniques using much smaller diameter cord. 

Here's a stack of cotton bangles made from #18 cotton cord using a familiar macrame knotting technique.

All of these are made the same diameter 2 3/8" but the technique can be used on a limitless number of molds in various sizes to suit the need.

Start with about 12' of cord.
Thread a small wood bead and place it at the center of the doubled cord.

Wrap the doubled cord around a mold, in this case a PVC coupling, reverse the working ends and tie the first square knot.

This creates a four strand core which is then used to support a series of square knots. These knots create the diagonal crossing pattern seen on the left.

Working the knots around the core and keeping an even tension brings the work back to the starting point. Final knot is placed snug against the bead and the loose ends are pulled tight.

A bit of nylon floss secures the cotton cord and enables the loose ends to be cut without fear of unraveling. 

check your slip-on size click here then select your favorite from one of these online shops:
WhatKnotShop on Etsy
WhatKnotShop on Zibbet

Nine part turks head knot rope bracelet with white and grey cable cord

The combination of natural white and grey cords creates a dramatic pattern in this nine part design.
The cable cord adds a texture which unifies the entire piece lending a marine "ropey" look to the bracelet.

The alternating light and dark pattern draws attention to the over-under weave. Each diamond shape crossover has three elements: The two white cords and the grey cord in the center.

The cord is a #60 four part cotton which is tightly twisted together.

check your slip-on size click here then select your favorite from one of these online shops:
WhatKnotShop on Etsy
WhatKnotShop on Zibbet

Part 8: Completing the double

Most of the slack is worked through. There remain some strands to double up.

ready to try this?
bulk cord in white and hand dyed colors available here

Pop the knot off the mold and use the fid to complete the doubling. This makes it easier to flex the knot fabric and thread the cord.

Here the knot is completely doubled but is a bit messy with uneven tension and shape.

A top view of the completly doubled knot.

At this point the knot is placed on another mold and worked up to the final, even tension using the round jaw pliers to grab the individual strands.
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start over at the beginning

Part 7: doubling the strands

The first 13 part circuit is complete and the cord is doubling around the knot. Use the fid to carefully position the cord through each intersection keeping parallel and on the same side as the original strand.

Another look.

need some cord?
bulk cord in white and hand dyed colors available here

Keep the twist out of the cord as much as possible. This will help when working up the knot to it's final form.

Here the knot has been doubled and slack has been removed for all but a few bights. The over under pattern can be seen clearly.

Work the slack out of the knot by following around and progressively taking up the tension. Don't pull too tight, leave each part evenly tensioned as you go.

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Part 6: finishing the weave

Here the cord has been inserted in to the wooden fid. This makes the process of threading the over-under pattern easier. As the slack is pulled through the standing parts be sure to remove the twist each time.

bulk cord in white and hand dyed colors available here

Same pattern with the fid as before, here we see the 11th part being placed in the 13 part design.

Cord is pulled through and parallel to the weave.

Here the cord is doubled and a larger gauge fid is used to manage the longer cord through the multiple weaves of the expanding knot.

Keeping the slack cord tangle free is important.

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Part 5: continuing the pattern

Here the center crossing is clearly established and visible. Keep the opposite over-under pattern going based on the adjacent part.



bulk cord in white and hand dyed colors available here

Always OVER at the last part on the outside.

The gaps at the edges will start to shrink as the number of standing parts increases. Keep adjusting the rubber bands to maintain a "V" shaped space on each outside edge.

Here the parallel strands can be seen in the same over-under pattern across the center of the diamond.

Keep working around and back and forth.

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Part 4, building a 13 part turks head knot bracelet - Adding more parts

This is part 4 of the tutorial:

Keep working the running part across the knot from side to side reversing direction after going OVER the last standing part.


bulk cord in white and hand dyed colors available here

Here the edge pattern is clearly established and visible.

Each time the running part crosses the first standing part be sure it is opposite the previous strand. If the previous strand goes over the parallel strand then pass the running part under. This keeps the over-under pattern intact.

On the outer edge the running strand must always emerge OVER the last sanding part. Work backwards to set up the over-under pattern to ensure that the last crossing is always OVER.

The open diamonds will get smaller as you add parallel strands. You will also notice that every other circuit around the knot appears to exactly follow the parallel strand on the opposite side of the diamond. This pattern will become clear as the number of strands increases bringing the parallel parts closer together.

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Part 3, building a 13 part turks head knot bracelet

This is part 3 of the tutorial:

Move toward the right and again place the running lead UNDER the first strand, then OVER the second. Use the loop and gently pull the cord through.

Place the bight and "zig" to the left.

bulk cord in white and hand dyed colors available here

Work back to the left again using the same sequence but this time there will be two standing leads, place the running lead UNDER the third one and OVER the outside lead. Use the loop again and draw the cord through.

Completed rope bracelets available here

Here you can see the UNDER-OVER pattern at the outside left held in place with the rubber bands.

The cord leads to the right again...

...and goes UNDER the first standing part, then OVER the second one (just like before) using the loop to avoid tangling the long slack end.


At the outside on the left it's the same move again: UNDER the first standing part then OVER the outermost part.

We have 5 of the 13 parts placed now. The knot is complete for a five part diamond weave as you can see the over-under pattern is consistent even though there is lots of space left on the mold. We will fill that space up as the number of parts increases.

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Part 2 building a 13 part turks head bracelet tutorial

This is part two of the tutorial

Place the running lead OVER the crossing strand in the center and  place the running lead OVER the standing lead on the right making a bight (turn) under the rubber band on the right side as shown


bulk cord in white and hand dyed colors available here

Cross the center lead again going the other way. Place the running lead OVER the center as before and OVER the standing lead on the left side. Place a bight under the rubber band.


See finished bracelets like this in the Etsy shop

Cross OVER the center lead again headed to the right. (Notice the standing lead on the left is not used until the knot is complete).

Form the bight on the right hand side under the rubber band. Be sure that the running lead passes OVER the standing lead.

Now for the first time place the running lead UNDER the first strand and OVER the second.

Use a loop as shown to feed the cord through the weave and pull the slack through. Be careful not to disturb the rest of the cords!

Place the cord OVER the standing part on the left and secure it with the rubber band.

Remember the move to the outside is always OVER the last standing part.
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