The photos and tips below are to help with two designs by Jennifer E Ryan -
Celtic Knot Scarf (originally published in Crochet Today! March/April 2012 issue) and the Celtic Knot Pin (featured in Crochetville's Tour through Crochet Country - March 2013).
See this blog's post on March 14, 2013 to click on the free downloads.
1. Gather some basic supplies
- Straight pins
- At least a 5" x 5" Square block of styrofoam about 1-2" thick
(You can find this in the floral dept. of any craft store - I like to save some of the hard foam pieces you get in a box when you buy something new)
- Yarn needle and scissors
- Diagram of the knot (see next step for photo)
2. Make a photocopy of the black and white drawing of the knot
- You can enlarge it to see the details better OR
- You can copy it to the size you want your knot to be and pin/tape to your foam board (You will then use it as a guide and weave the knot on top of the drawing)
3. Decide where you want to start weaving
This should be in a straighter area of the knot at one of the "under passes" - This way you can hide the beginning and end join
(You can see this spot marked with a red star in the photo)
Pin the knot diagram to the styrofoam block
4. Work on top of the styrofoam block: Pin down the cording (at the end) into the styrofoam and slowly lay out the cording in the path designated by the arrows on the diagram (this may be different direction than photo below).
(Again, you may want the diagram on the foam or next to you as you work.)
Continue pinning as you go to secure your cording and to allow you to start doing under and over crosses
5. Be careful to note under and over passes as you weave your knot
***(Notice that if you were to pick ANY place on the knot and trace the path with your finger, the path would alternate between over and under passes/crosses)
6. When you come to the end (which is also the beginning), adjust the various loops and sections of your knot
- Make sure each loop is the same length
- Even out the tension across the body of the knot
**You will probably need to remove and replace the pins -
( Do not remove the pin holding your starting spot - otherwise your joining seam will shift to a new place and may not be hidden)
7. With unused pins, pin across each place the knot crosses to hold it securely
8. Take out the pins holding the knot to the foam and flip knot over
9. Using the yarn needle, sew together the beginning and end of the cord and then sew this join to the cording above it
---Continue securing all crossing places with matching yarn (being sure to not let your stitches show on the front)
(In the photo below this is shown with red yarn for contrast)
10. Wet block or steam with an iron and pressing cloth and your knot is complete!
