Web sites and Books

Books... Most are available from internet book sources and may also be found in public libraries.

Encyclopedia of Knots and Fancy Rope Work
by Raoul Graumont and John Hensel
This was my first knot book. It is a great reference but can be challenging to beginning knotters.

The Ashley Book of Knots
by Clifford W. Ashley
The knotters bible. Otherwise known as ABOK when cited as a reference.

Knotcraft by Stuart E. Grainger
My primary reference for half hitching weaves. It may be available from the International Guild of Knot Tyers (IGKT - see web site references).

Creative Ropecraft by Stuart E. Grainger
Next best thing if the Knotcraft book is not available.

The Complete Book of Decorative Knots
by Geoffrey Budworth
A good and affordable beginners guide to decorative knotting. I would recommend it as a startup book.

Web sites… For more information and images and just general looking around starting points for knot work of all kinds.

International Guild of Knot Tyers www.igkt.net

TomKnots - www.tomknots.blogspot.com

Alaska Museum of Fancy Knots - www.knotical-arts.com

Knots on the Web (Peter Suber) - www.earlham.edu/~peters/knotlink.htm

Ropers Knot Pages - www.realknots.com

How to - 1740

1740 is a cow hitched weave starting at the top and continued to the bottom.

2393

2393 Shows the top of 1740.

2394

2394 Shows the bottom of 1740.

2398 through 2417 show the beginning of the weave which starts at the top of the bottle neck (using a tube for demo purposes). 2298, 99, & 2401 show the initial hitch. After the initial hitch is completed, other hitches are added around the neck continuing to circle down the length of the neck as shown in 2412 & 2414.

2398 2399 2401 2412 2414

Once the weave has a number of turns down the neck, the weave can be slid up over the top end of the bottle and pulled up slightly to close the opening enough so that it will not slip down the neck as the weave progresses. 2415 shows the weave extending over the end of the bottle. 2416 shows a slight closing of the opening and 2417 a small enough opening to prevent slipping down over the neck.

2415 2416 2417

The closing is accomplished by pulling the upper end of the cord through the cow hitches and adjusting the space between the hitches evenly. The end is then tucked through two adjoining hitches and can be cut off short (but not so short that it pulls through the knot) when the weave is completed. 2411 shows the first tuck - the end of the cord is hardened with super glue and filed smooth but a pricker of some sort will probably be needed to open a space for tucking the end. After the top is secured, the weave can be continued down the neck until it widens over the bottle. The spaces between the hitches will expand and an additional hitch can be added in the spaces which will make for a more solid appearance for the remainder of the weave.

2411

2422 shows the initial weave for a mat to cover the bottom of the bottle (Ashley Book Of Knots #2356). Any round mat will do but this one works well. After the initial weave, the mat can be doubled or tripled to fill in the space available. I use white glue (Elmers) to fasten the mat to the bottom and then extend the cow hitch weave over the edges far enough to secure the mat to the bottom. Once the weave is in place over the bottom the end of the cord can be woven back into the hitching to hide it and keep it from coming loose.

2422

If you run out of cord during the weaving process see the How To on splicing to add more cord. I use a simple marline type splice that works well and is easy to hide behind whatever you are working on. Since there is usually no need for the splice to hold any weight or stress, I have found this to be a quick and easy splice for adding cord. If you are working on a project that will not allow you to hide the splice, you will have to do something a little more nautically correct and use a short or long splice - or make sure you have enough cord to complete the project without splicing.

How to - Splicing

This is a simple marline type splice that entails interweaving the ends of two cords and pulling them together to add cord when you run out. It can be used when there is no strain or pull on the cords to cause the splice to fail. After joining the cords and completing the project, the ends can be tucked in to hide them and cut off short (but not so short that it pulls out of the weave). 2418 shows the first tuck and 2419 through 2421 show the second tuck and the splice as it is pulled up tight.

2418 2419

2420 2421