Page 84 - Lydia Chen - The Complete Book of Chinese Knotting

06 Good Luck Knot (81–114) rp08 6/2/08 12:19 PM Page 81

Good Luck Knot

This knot is made by wrapping three, four, five, six or more ear loops clockwise or
anticlockwise and pulling them firmly to secure them. If careful attention is paid to
the tightening process, the knot can also be tied with compound petals – a small cir-
cle of loops in between the large outer ones – by pressing loops in the same direc-
tion and inserting them into another loop. A great variety of elegant modified good
luck knots can thus be obtained by changing the method and number of overlapped
and pulled cords. The various types of modified good luck knots are shown below.

Modified Knots

Increasing the Number of Outer Loops
Although the number of outer loops in a good luck knot can be increased infinitely,
this leads to a bigger central hole and a looser, less stable knot body. One remedy is
to wrap every second or more ear loop instead of the adjacent one. Another is to limit
the number of outer loops to four or five, otherwise it can be difficult to control the
shape of the finished knot.

Modified Knot Bodies

Changing the Method of Wrapping and Pulling
By knotting the first layer of the good luck knot using the basic wrap one, pull one
knotting technique and then knotting the second layer using a different technique –
pressing and inserting – it is possible to achieve a variety of modified knots with
different knot body structures. Alternatively, the arrangement of the ear loops can be Good luck knot with six outer
altered in such a way that new square knots are achieved. loops (see page 82).

Good luck knot with Lingzhi knot (see page Type 1 Good luck knot Type 2 Good luck knot
compound outer loops 85). with small outer loops with small outer loops
(see page 84). (see page 86). (see page 88).

Type 3 Good luck knot Type 4 Good luck knot Type 5 Good luck knot Pan Chang good luck
with small outer loops with small outer loops with small outer loops knot (see page 93).
(see page 89). (see page 90). (see page 91).

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