Page 149 - Eric C. Fry - Knots and Ropework

Although the name 'mats' is given to the following
ropeworks, all except one are individually too small to be Mats
used as actual mats. The exception is the square mat,
which is not 'followed around' and is the only one to
increase equally in length and breadth with each
additional bight being worked into it. However, there
would be little beauty in one large square mat.
The art of mat-making is therefore the combination of a
series of sma ll mats conjoined with chosen sen nits, all
sewn together with sail twine. Those illustrated have been
made with manufactured cordage purely for photo~raphic
clarity and whilst there are no ru les against this, the
beauty of any mat will be enhanced if the sma!! mats are
themselves made w ith sennit the three stranded common
sennit (Knot 67) being the most simple for this purpose.
Knot 95 shows a suggested multiple mat, in this case
made in miniature.
There are several other mats which border on weaving, the
sword mat for instance requiring some sort of loom, whilst
the wrought mat with its multiplicity of strands needs
two pairs of hands. The Russian mat also requires a large
number of strands which could become complicated, so a
Russian sen nit (Knot 76) has been illustrated, the mat
being based on the same principle requiring only the
additional strands to make up any given width.