Page 20 - Lindsey Philpott "The Ultimate Book of Decorative Knots"

14 THE ULTIMATE book of dEcorATIvE knoTs

be restored to their former state and must then be
protected from further damage. Inorganic fibres can
be washed, so the protection needed is not as great.
Heat is not a problem for most natural fibres, as
long as no flame is involved and the temperature is
not high enough to char the fibres. Water, however,
will rot the fibres from the inside if they are not
thoroughly dried. Another element that will damage
organic line is sunlight, which will fade coloured
fibres (note that all colours will fade with time).
Manila will turn gray; hemp may yellow; sisal will
get more brown, and cotton picks up dirt. The last
item to watch for when using natural fibres is shock
loading, as they do not react well to this. However,
since most decorative knotters are not concerned
with the shock load-bearing capabilities of their
pieces, this is less of a concern.
Heat is a very good way of permanently
ruining a piece of inorganic line. These lines are
technically made of plastic and will not survive high
temperatures. Three hundred degrees seems to be
the upper limit for most. Inorganic lines will not
suffer from rot and so do not need to be kept away made with plastic do not need great lengths of cord.
from water. However, untreated polypropylene lines However, it is good to know they can be extended
require protection from the sun or they will turn to when necessary. Plastic is also washable and will
dust. Nylon made into mats will stiffen with time withstand a great deal of wear.
and exposure to sunlight.
What doesn’t work
PlastiC Plastic may melt if pulled too quickly through
Plastic cord is one of the fastest-growing materials a piece of braid, or, of course, if left on a hot
used in decorative knotting. The colours are surface. If you finish a piece made with plastic
endlessly varied and bright, and the surface is cord by applying heat to it, then do not touch the
usually shiny, which makes it attractive to children. melting plastic with your skin until the plastic has
Plastic cord comes in half-moon, round, flat, solidified and cooled. They also have a further slight
rectangular, tubular, and triangular shapes (cross- disadvantage in that they stretch! You have to be
section). very careful to pull on each piece steadily and with
the same strength, or you may find some pieces
How does it work? over-extended and others quite distended (fat).
Most plastic cords are extruded (pushed through
a die) and cooled immediately, although some are other natural FiBres
cast, which makes them harder and more brittle. Hemp, manila, cotton, henequen, sea-grass, sisal,
coir, silk – all are natural fibres that are made into
What works cord and into line. Shown here is a roll of something
You can fuse two pieces of plastic cord by applying known as marline, which is made from jute fibres,
gentle heat, such as with a match or a lighter, if you although most marline used to be made from hemp.
find yourself in need of extra length. Most pieces Marline is quite strong and was used, tarred, to