Glossary: Decorative Knot Design Vocabulary
Decorative knot designs run the gamut from jewelry, home decoration, clothing, general ornamentation, and art with the occasional crossover into practical knot utility.
| Ornament | Branching off from the idea of decorative knots, most of the things one makes with decorative knots are "ornaments". |
|---|---|
| Hanging Ornament | a large proportion of knotted ornaments are made to be hung from a loop at the top. It could be suspended from a festive tree branch, a flute, or the hilt of a sword. |
| Wall Hanging | It is a rare Asian household that does not have knotwork hung
on a wall somewhere in the house. Indeed, culturally it is
important enough that the various Tiangongs, the Chinese space
stations have each (?) had at least one (I have a small
collection of images of knots installed in more than one
Tiangong, but the articles I clipped can no longer be found on
the news sites where I saw them originally ☹️, for now here's
some
video
proof) Is tapestry a better term? To me, a tapestry does double duty of decorative element and insulation/sound absorption. Most knotworks don't have the bulk to fill that aspect? |
| Tassel | a "tassel" might be considered just a thread cluster hanging from the bottom of a knotted ornament, or the entire ornament. This is for you to decide. |
| 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. |