Page 29 - Lydia Chen - The Complete Book of Chinese Knotting

02 Four Methods of Basic Knots (17-27) 3/23/07 6:49 PM Page 26

9. Recombining Basic Knots

There are two ways of recombining basic knots, one being the technique of knotting
with both cord ends, a method which first appeared on artifacts from the Han
Dynasty (206 BCE–CE 220). The other way, which first appeared on artifacts from the
Qing Dynasty (CE 1644–1911), is to knot with a single cord end. The various recom-
bining skills are summarized below.

Chainlink Technique
This simply involves tying a series of single knots of the same kind. After the first knot
has been tied, the remaining cord is used to tie a second knot, third knot, and so on.
Regardless of whether the knots are being linked vertically, horizontally or in a circle,
it is just a matter of linking them to form a larger formation without changing the
shape of the individual knots.

Double coin knot.

Bracelet made from a vertical chainlinked
plafond knot. Vertical chainlinked
double coin knot. Horizontal chainlinked double coin knot.

The Use of Outer Loops
A Chinese knot is made up of a knot body and its surrounding outer loops. As long
as the body of the knot is firm, not loose, outer loops can be formed and utilized in a
variety of ways. Indeed, from the beginning of the Qing Dynasty until around 1985,
all the modified knots that were developed were based on this principle.

There are four main ways of using outer loops. The first involves the use of a single
outer loop. Once the cord end leaves a knot body, it can be tied on an outer loop to
form another knot. Beads can also be threaded on the cord end to enhance the knot.

Ru yi earrings made from cloverleaf knots using Round brocade knot. Using a single outer loop of a round brocade knot.
the method of making use of a single outer loop.

26 CHINESE KNOTTING TECHNIQUES

The Complete Book Of Chinese Knotting
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