Page 23 - Lydia Chen - The Complete Book of Chinese Knotting

02 Four Meth of Bsc Knots (17-27) rp08 5/30/08 5:59 PM Page 20

NINE WAYS OF MODIFYING BASIC KNOTS

Modified knots are variations of basic knots.Although the finished knots may appear to be quite different from the basic
knots from which they originate, they can nevertheless be traced back to the skills employed in tying the basic knots. In
this section, nine major ways or methods of modifying basic knots are described and illustrated, namely (1) increasing
the number of outer loops, (2) altering the knotting sequence of the outer loops, (3) extending the outer loops, (4) over-
lapping the outer loops, (5) changing the shape and reducing the cords, (6) shifting the weave of the knot body, (7) knot-
ting a tall three-dimensional knot, (8) recombining skills and (9) recombining basic knots.
The names of the techniques provide a clue to the way in which each basic knot is modified. Naturally enough, the
more complicated the basic knot, the more potential it has for modification. Hence, some basic knots have more modi-
fied knots and some fewer.
The examples given below will help you appreciate the basic principles in modifying basic knots as preparation for
the next section on extending and varying basic knots.

1. Increasing the Number of Outer Loops

With basic knots that are tied using the “pull and wrap” technique, for example, the
cloverleaf knot, round brocade knot, good luck knot, constellation knot and pan
chang knot, the number of ear loops involved in the pull and wrap can be increased
to make knots of different sizes with varying numbers of outer loops.

Round brocade knot with six outer loops.

Round brocade knot with ten outer loops.

Brooch in the form of a round brocade knot
with eight outer loops.

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