Page 79 - Merry Barbara "Marlinspike Sailor's Knots and Crafts"

72 < Marlinspike Sailor’s Knots and Crafts

The leather lacing used here
can be purchased at Tandy Leather
or at big-box crafts stores.
Chinese Button Knot

Zipper Pull

two 18-inch lengths of leather
lacing in different colors
(the lacing is sold in packets
of ⁄8 inch by 8 yards)
1
sharp knife or scissors
A number of years ago a counselor
from the local high school ap-
Holding the lace to start the knot. proached me looking for a knot
that was inexpensive and easy to
tie, and could be done in two col-
ors (the school colors, of course!). I
came up with the zipper pull. The
instructions are below. (When the
pull is completed, you can add it to
the zipper with a lark’s head/cow
hitch knot.)
Follow these steps to make a
knot out of the first length of lace:
1 > Chose your first color in an 18-
inch length. We’re going to tie
this knot around two fingers.
2 > Find the center of the lace and
wrap it around the index finger
and middle finger of your left
Adding a loop to the knot. hand. Arrange the two work-
ing ends of the lace so that the
end on the bottom leads away,
and the end on the top leads
toward you, as shown.
3 > Bring the back lace to the front,
make a twist in it, and set the
small loop (the result of the
twist) over the top lace, as
shown.

4 > Twist the left lace into a loop,
weaving it over, under, over,
under, and over the other laces.
This knot is called the sailor’s
breast plate (see illustration).
5 > Next, bring the bottom lace
Finishing the first part of the knot. around the tip of your index