Lindsey Philpott - The Ultimate Book of Decorative Knots

Whether you have a lightweight quickshot camera or a heavy single-lens reflex digital camera with giant lenses, it is usually easier to carry when suspended on a lanyard or a strap. Here is a handy lanyard that you may enjoy making and using, as well as showing off to your friends.

Method: For a handy digital pocket camera, this should take you about an hour to make. For the larger one you may want to spend more time, depending on how fancy you want it to be. I have given directions here for the smaller one, with hints on what you could do for the larger one. The cord you select should be long enough to pass your hand through a doubled-cord loop, with about six inches more length than you need to fit over your hand. This is yourcorecord. You will also need a second, covering cord, its length depending on your hand size. Take yourcore cord and find the middle. Make a loop about three inches long of the doubled cord. Be SURE that the cord will go through the hanging buckle or metal strap on your camera! The center cord, used for suspending the camera, is now mounted through the cameras suspension bar and the tail ends of the cord are then pulled through its bight to make a Ring Hitch. Beginning a short distance (two inches or so) from the Ring Hitch, form the wrist loop with the tails of your center cord. Bend the tail ends of your wrist cord pair around to meet themselves, thus forming a complete circle the size you need to fit over your hand. Tie an Overhand Knot around the center pair with the tail ends and then allow the remaining tail ends to lie along the center line cords, forming a coreof four cords. You may want to use a piece of tape to hold the cords together temporarily while you make the covering using the second cord. Take your second cord, perhaps one of a different color, although shown here is a cord of the same color, and tie another Overhand Knot around the doubled center cord above (closer to the camera) the first Overhand Knot tolock the tail-end cords into place. Now proceed to use the second cord to tie a Solomons Bar series of Overhand Knots around initially four cords and, after the tail-ends are covered, the remaining twocorecords. Tie the Solomons Bar all the way around the circle that forms the wrist loop. Cut and heat-seal the ends when you reach the beginning of the work, having progressed all the way around the wrist loop. The doubled length of your second loop will need to be about four times the length of the doubled wrist loop, so be sure to allow enough cord!