Nic Compton - A Knot a Day

ADLARD COLES

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK

This electronic edition published in 2020 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

BLOOMSBURY, ADLARD COLES and the Adlard Coles logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

First published in 2020

Text Nic Compton, 2020

Photography Nic Compton and Adlard Coles, 2020

Nic Compton has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work

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ISBN: 978-1-4729-8516-3 (PB)
ISBN: 978-1-4729-8516-3 (eBook)
ISBN: 978-1-4729-8518-7 (ePDF)

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Contents

Why knots?

It might sound mad, but its true: a knot a day keeps the doctor away. Theres something about practicing any craft that pushes away your troubles and settles the mind, and knot-tying is no exception. This is especially true of slightly repetitive activities, such as making a plant hanger (). Once youve got into the rhythm of the knot, you can work away happily, with your mind occupied just enough to keep you engaged but (hopefully) not enough to be stressed. Knot-tying is, quite simply, good therapy.

Tying practice

You can work your way through the book from front to back, or dip into any pages that take your fancy. But a simple rule if you really want to learn a knot off by heart is to keep practising it until you can do it without looking at the instructions. And then come back and practise it some more. Many of the knots are repeated in different guises, to help you to become more familiar with them.

What youll need

The best rope is usually the rope youve already got, and most of these knots can be tied using any type of rope. If youre buying new, then a few lengths of and in (0.5cm and 0.1cm) rope will cover most of the bases. Traditional three-strand feels nice under the hand, but braided rope is more durable and less stretchy. Generally speaking, go for nylon or polyester, which can be easily sealed with a the ends.

More specialised rope might be needed for some of the craft projects. Paracord is the new wonder rope, as it's cheap, strong and easy to use though make sure you seal the ends with a . A 100ft (30.5m) coil of (0.5cm) paracord costs very little and will serve for most purposes. Macram string is likewise inexpensive, but hard to find in short lengths. Both and in (0.2cm and 0.4cm) macram string are used in projects featured in this book.

Terminology

There are a handful of terms youll need to familiarise yourself with to make the most of this book.

Working end The active end of the line you are using to tie the knot.

Standing part The part of the line not in use but close to the knot.

Bight A curved section of rope that does not cross over.

Loop A curved section of rope that does cross over.

On a bight When a knot is tied in the middle of a length of rope, without using the ends.

Overhand When the working end is laid over the standing part.

Underhand When the working end is laid under the standing part.

Happy knotting!

About this book

This book contains 365 knots, one for each day of the year, all colour-coded for easy reference. There are eight categories:

GENERAL KNOTS These are the foundation knots that provide the basis of all the other projects in the book. Most can be tied with any 6ft (1.8m) length of rope. There are more than 160 of these to get your fingers in the zone.

INDOOR KNOTS Getting knots out of the classroom and into the home! Here are some of the many ways knots can help in everyday life, including life hacks such as making shelves, hanging clothes, packing parcels, sewing and knitting theres even a special knot for tying a bunch of flowers!

OUTDOOR KNOTS Fancy climbing a tree, skipping a rope, playing on a swing or lounging on a hammock? Heres a big selection of practical outdoor activities, all of which can be enjoyed using knots featured in this book. There are tips for the best way to lash things to a roofrack, tying off your plants in the garden and an ingenious knotted device for carrying four bottles of beer with one hand.

MAGIC KNOTS Welcome to the mystery zone, where knots appear out of nowhere, where knots vanish, and where one knot appears to slice straight through your neck. You too can learn to tie knots in the air, including the awesome thrown bowline. Prepare to be amazed, very amazed.

CRAFT KNOTS A selection of accessible mini-projects that anyone with basic knot-tying skills can tackle. There are bracelets, necklaces and keyrings aplenty, as well as plant hangers, mats, a bookmark and a fancy wall hanging not forgetting your essential pet accessories: collars and toys for cats and dogs.

FASHION KNOTS Do you tie your shoelaces with bunny ears? Do you do up your tie like a schoolboy? Well, your life is about to get a whole lot more interesting! Here we have fun knots (the noose, the zigzag and the open sesame), smart knots (the Bertuli and the Parisian) and frankly mad knots (the Taurus, the Onassis and the Merovingian). Time to smarten up!

DECORATIVE KNOTS More traditional knot work to get your fingers moving. This is the fancy stuff, which gets gradually harder as you work through the book.

SPLICES & WHIPPINGS The maintenance department, essential for keeping your ropes well tended and including old and new school ways of joining rope together from traditional three-strand to modern multi-strand and Dyneema.

DAY

Overhand loop

This quick and easy loop is the perfect introduction to tying knots! With this method you can form a loop anywhere in a rope. An overhand loop may be simple to make, but beware of pulling it too tight as its likely to jam and become a more permanent installation.