Chinese Double Coin Knot - Hair Comb Tutorial

    I have been enjoying all the very cool textile jewelry that I have been seeing all over the internet lately.  I especially like the use of knots in jewelry and home decor.  I filmed a brief television segment on

My hair model "Ariel" and a few of some of the projects for the show.

A view of the pony tail knotting project.

various chinese knots and I thought I would share with you one of the knots that I
demonstrated for the viewers.

    Below are the instructions of how I made the "Chinese Double Knot" hair comb using the same knot like the one below.

Note:  My directions and method of doing the knot may or may not make sense to you.  However,  there are many ways to do chinese knotting.  I highly recommend getting a book on the various knots and their meanings.  Additionally, you can always go on YouTube.  I find it is a fun resource for learning many new techniques.   You can also find celtic knots that are very similar to the chinese knots in appearance but not meaning.  

   The chinese double knot represents "good fortune and abundance".  Making jewelry or hair
accessories with the chinese double knot is a nice handmade gift with a sweet sentiment attached to it.

Materials Used:

1 yard of cording in two contrasting colors

2 beads with large holes

hair comb

Modge Podge

Tools Needed:

Cork Mat

Pins or Tacks to hold the cording in place

Scissors

soft paint brush

measuring tape

Here is how I made the knot:

Step 1

Prepare the cord ends by brushing them with a little modge podge.  Place aside and allow it to dry.  This seals the ends and keeps them from fraying.

Step 2

Once they are dry, take the two cord and pin the to the board.  You do not need to use the board, I just find it helpful in getting the tension just right.

Anyways, anchor the one end of the cord at point "A" and form a loop with the coord and pin down (like you see below), from this point you will be working with the loose end known as cord "B".  Use pins, as needed,  to hold the shape.

Step 3

Form a second loop by looping cord "B" as illustrated below.  Make sure the "B" end loops under "A".

Step 4

Form a third loop by taking cord "B" down through the two loops as illustrated below (Watch the over and under weave...this is key to get the knot correct). It will kind of look like a pretzel.

Step 5.  Once you have completed the knot pattern by weaving the cord down through the two loops as shown above, you will remove the pins so that you can tighten the knot.  I found that tightening the cord slowly keeps the knot from losing the tension necessary to maintain the right shape.  Below is what it supposed to look like.

Once you master the basic knot, you can weave it with more than one cord and have fun combining colors and beads.  I made the one below with two different colored cords and attached it to the hair comb.

Here is are some close up views of other things I made using the same knotting technique.

Tips:

• The final size of your knot completely depends on the size of the cord you use.  For the hair comb I chose a cord that was 1/8".   
• If you are planning on making earrings to match, then I would choose a very thin cord in a similar color. 
• You should also take into consideration the texture of the cord you pick as that will also affect the final piece.
• Again, you can not beat YouTube as a great source to see how different people make these knots.  Each person has their own technique and I am sure you can find someone whose technique works for you.

Disclosure

As always, the opinions expressed on this blog are mine.  Additionally, always use care when working with art and craft supplies, especially if you have children and pets around.  All photos are copyrighted.  

A day at the Crafters & Peddlers Market

Do you have a garage or craft room full of excess craft supplies?  Perhaps you have orphaned projects that you will never actually get around to finishing.  What do you do with these things?  

Well, a group of local crafters got together to sell their excess craft supplies, unfinished projects and other assorted oddities.  The event that originally started off as a giant yard sale turned into a craftastic opportunity to buy crafting supplies, learn new techniques and try some new things.  The market took place in the parking lot of the “Piecemakers” quilt store in Costa Mesa, California. .  For a very small fee, vendors got a good size booth to display their materials and present them to the public.  There was no charge to the public for entry to the event.  I found a great selection of scrapbooking supplies and kids crafts supplies at this event.  They also had a good selection of crafting tools like: knitting needles, hand looms, scissors, glues, hot glue guns, etc.  There were also packaged craft kits that had spend too many years in a box and were finally going to find new homes.  I even picked up a box of modge podge.  

For those shoppers on the look out for a new craft to try, there were local teachers doing demonstrations all day long.  These featured a variety of craft techniques, which ranged from cake decorating, cooking,

jewelry making, rubber-stamping, and even some fun metal clay techniques.

Multi media Steampunk robot made by Kathy Davis, from an old altoid container

One of the local teachers was Kathy Davis, polymer clay artist,  who teachers polymer clay, felting and metal clay techniques.  

Sculpting classes, metal clay technique, felted creatures and more.

For those who can not attend one of Kathy's classes in person, she also has a cd set on Etsy that combines felting with polymer clay.  Kathy has been a guest on the television show “DIY Jewelry”, written articles for various magazines, and has demonstrated for a variety of manufacturers at the Craft and Hobby Association shows.

Samples of CD class projects

Another fun booth was the “Cheltenham Cottage” booth, where Mariepaule Rossier was demonstrating spinning.  Mariepaule makes some lovely items from yarn that she spins from her own livestock.

 She even had one of her rabbits on hand to demonstrate the source of the roving she was spinning with.  The rabbit had a great personality and seemed to enjoy all the special attention she got. 

 Mariepaule also teaches weaving, felting, and other textile crafts.

 There were the booths with a variety of finished projects.  There was an amazing selection of textile crafts.  Some of the projects offered for sale; included blackwork embroidery, knitted items, recycled fork jewelry, photography, weaving, and more.  I even found some “Swedish Huck Weaving” which was beautiful.

Swedish Huck Weaving

The event provided as a fun way for crafters to clean out their craft rooms, garages, and find new homes for their excess supplies. Some of the booths were filled with new and gently used crafting supplies.  I picked up some great deals (like cross stitch kits for $1 and some paper punches).  There was even someone on hand to sharpen knives and scissors.

This type of event is becoming more popular with the local craft guilds and crafters, as a great way to delete unneeded supplies and pick up new ones without adding to the landfill problem. 

So what are you or your local craft groups doing with their unneeded supplies?

Disclosure