Chinese Knotting Glossary of Terms

double

a double knot is "twice" as big as the basic knot in a family of knots.

doubled

doubled knot has it's structure traced by two parallel cords instead of the usual one, although the parallel cord need not be a separate and distinct cord.

ear

a loop of string on the knot that is not a structural part of the knot. Ears may be replaced with other knots.

family

a family of knots is a knot grouping that I feel belong together. I am the final arbiter on my website, but feel free to argue with me. 8)

inline

a knot with only one incoming end and one outgoing end.

knot vector

while there is probably a formal mathematical knot theory use for the term, I use it to describe a logical progression of knots that I have tied in a single column of knots, usually used to illustrate the main knot image on a page.

loose end ear

a knot tied in isolation will have all it's ears but one composed of continuous loops of cord, but where the working ends leave the knot there will be an "ear" composed of 2 separate cords. When tying knots in sequence or aggregate there will usually be at least 2 loose end ears on a knot where the path of the cords enter and leave the knot.

sinnet

a braid or chain of knots (usually the same knot) that forms a narrow band or cord.

spacer

a term from beading: a spacer is usually a smaller or simpler and often cheaper bead used between the larger, glitzier design elements to give visual breathing space to the composition.

triple

a triple knot is "three times" as big as the basic knot in a family of knots

tripled

a tripled knot has it's structure traced by three parallel cords instead of the usual one (see doubled).

working length

a knot may only take a small amount of cord when it is tied, but almost definately requires more during the tying process. Laying out loops and leaving space where the cord ends will interlace, extra length to distinguish ears and loops, extra length to make sure you don't lose your ends, etc, etc. all mean more cord than just what the knot will consume when it is tied and tightened. In general cases this is not a problem, but if you are, say, using hand-braided cord, or only have a little of that particular colour/special cord left, then you may have to splice on some other cord to add working length, or make the knot(s) in some similar sized cord, then very carefully thread your special cord through the completed knot to save on working length.

Creation Date: Sun Jul 2 01:16:46 PDT 2000

Last Modified:Thursday, 01-May-2003 23:33:07 UTC
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