The Chinese Button Knot - Short Ends Method

紐扣結, 纽扣结, 玉結び, 연봉매듭

Occasionally, in the midst of a compound knot design, you'll find yourself running short of working length. When that happens to me, I use this method.

Tying

  1. step 1 overlap 2 loops, when first learning this method, carefully check which part of the cord is over and under at the crossings, the right loop is the midpoint of the knot (remember this for later)
  2. step 2 bring the right working end over the left working end, under the edge of the first loop, through the middle loop, under and past the rest
  3. step 3 continue back down through the diamond in the middle and under to the other side
  4. step 4 using the other free end, cross over the former working end, bring the cord under/around the rest, then up through the midpoint loop (remember this from step 1?)
  5. step 5 continue back down through the diamond in the middle
  6. step 6 pull up on the midpoint loop and down on the ends, of the three methods, this one looks the most confusing when first pulled tight, but following the cord around in a logical fashion as you remove the slack will soon produce the right end product

Tightening

  1. done there is often a danger of the small loop at the top of the knot getting sucked into the body of the knot and lost, if that happens, just use tweezers or a knitting needle (crochet hook, etc) to fish the loop back out.