Page 83 - Merry Barbara "Marlinspike Sailor's Knots and Crafts"

76 < Marlinspike Sailor’s Knots and Crafts

Follow these steps to make the garment buttons out of
the #72 cotton seine twine. This is a six-strand wall and
crown button. Directions for making buttons out of the
leather lace follow the directions for making buttons
out of cotton seine twine. (To illustrate this knot, we
used cotton rope, and the sizing in the picture and
drawing is of #18 cotton seine twine. For your button
in #72 cotton seine twine, you’ll want to use a single
strand of the #18 cotton seine twine or a length of
thread.)
1 > Middle (fold in half) a 10-inch piece of #72 cotton
seine twine.
2 > Tie a small loop at one end of the heavy cotton
thread, and thread the needle on the other end.
Tie it on, seizing ½ inch up from the bight (loop)
that you made in the #72 cotton seine twine.
You now have a small loop bound by seizing
with two lengths of twine below the seizing (see
illustration).
3 > Unlay (untwist) the two lengths of twine all the
way up to the seizing to create six strands.
4 > Tie a six-strand wall knot. Follow these steps:
5 > Lay out the six strands parallel to one another.
6 > Loop the left strand down in the direction the rope
twists and up under the far right strand.
7> Loop the next strand on the left under and over
the first loop.
8 > Continue to loop each strand under and over the
previous loops until you have looped all six strands.

Materials for making garment buttons include cotton 9> Tighten the knot.
twine, leather lacing, a needle, and fine cotton twine for
sewing the small bight in the attachment loop. To finish this button, tie a single “topper” of a crown
knot with the six strands in pairs. Follow these steps:
1 > Lay out the six strands parallel to one another.
You can use these buttons to fasten garments or to 2> Loop one pair of strands on the left up and over
decorate other projects.
the pair of far right strands.
3> Loop the next set of strands on the left over and
Wall and Crown Garment Buttons under the first loop.

12 inches of #72 cotton seine twine for cotton 4> Loop the third set of strands over and under the
buttons second loop.
1
two 10-inch-long pieces of ⁄8-inch leather lace for 5 > Tighten the knot.
black leather buttons
You can use a mixture of wall and crown knots
sewing needle and heavy cotton thread (#18) to design your own buttons. For example, the larger
sharp knife or scissors of the two light-colored buttons in the photograph
ruler at the start of this chapter is composed of a base of
shellac and brush two rows of wall knots and a topper of a three-paired