Page 354 - Lindsey Philpott "The Ultimate Book of Decorative Knots"

348 the ultimate book of decorative knots

the Chrysanthemum knot
(gukhWa maedup) to each side, and is shown here with two loops,
This traditional emblem of Korean Knot craft, tied although it is always possible to make it with a
in plum and mauve cords, is similar in construction larger number if tradition is not required. Look
to the Pan Chang Knot of Chinese origin. In also at the instructions for the Chinese Pan Chang,
Korean literature it is apparently a symbol of which are the same, if slightly differently worded.
autumn and eternity when tied with these colours. I like the mixture of dark and light colours in this
It is named the Gukhwa Knot in Korean (as near knot, which allows for greater interpretation of the
as can be pronounced in English) and is usually intermingling of life forces. I have used not plum
tied in the hand. This practice of tying knots in the and mauve – but two colours of autumn that are
hand can be difficult for a beginner to master, so familiar to me, golden and dark brown, to represent
I show the instructions for making it by pinning it the autumnal change from summer’s green to
to a board. It will usually be made with two loops, winter’s white.

1 Join two colours of cord together using the 2 We now turn our attention to the other cord,
which is inserted as a bight that wraps around
Double Connection Knot. next make a letter ‘W’
the first cord. the wrap is made over the tops
as here, finishing at top right with an underhand
clockwise loop, leading in to make a letter ‘e’. for of all the strokes of the letter ‘W’ and then
returns under all those same strokes. the wrap
the letter ‘e’ insert a bight under, over, under, over sits above the top stroke of the letter ‘e’, but do
and hold it in place with a pin. repeat for the next not worry too much about precise placement at
stroke of the letter. Your cord should now look this time.
like the photograph.

3 We now again pass a bight wrapping

over the top of the strokes of the
letter ‘W’, returning again to the left
under those same strokes. the next
stages are vital.