A) I want to provide instructions for an unusual or rarely described historical knot, and
B) I want to provide techniques you can use to create fusion knots of your own.
The chapters of this book are organized according to the primary knot element or knotting technique utilized in the knot’s construction. For example, if a knot starts off as a Double Coin Knot, but finishes with a technique associated with the Trinity Knot (as seen in the Djinn Bottle Knot), that knot will be placed in the Double Coin Knot chapter.
All this said, please remember, fusion knotting is a creative endeavor. Although the pages before you show a multitude of step-by-step instructions on how to tie knots, you do not have to be a passive consumer of this information. Modify what is shown, play with the techniques, integrate different knot elements, and create something new. Put another way…
Explore, Discover, Innovate!
Doing so will not only improve your understanding of fusion knots; it will improve your understanding of all knots and pave the way to ever more elaborate and creative knots tomorrow.
Thank you and keep tying.
—JD of Tying It All Together
Rope Orientation
The following definitions and visual clarifications are meant to provide an understanding of the terms and knotting procedures associated with this book.
Note: All the knots in this book were tied with a six foot length of ¼ inch solid braid nylon or equivalent lengths of paracord.
Definitions
Ascending End: The end of a line (usually the running end) going up.
Bight: A line doubled over into a U-shape.
Circle: A line making one complete revolution around another line.
Clockwise Loop: A loop that has a running end (or line on top) that rotates clockwise.
Counterclockwise Loop: A loop that has a running end (or line on top) that rotates counterclockwise.
Rope Parts
Knot Parts
Rope Loops
Knot Movements
Coil: A line that makes several (more than one) revolutions around another line.
Crook: The curved part of a bight, circle or loop.
Flip: Turning a knot or semi-completed knot upside down.
Firm: The point at which the adjusting of a knot results in a satisfactory appearance.
Fusion Knot: An innovative knot created through the merging of different knot elements or knotting techniques.
Historical Knot: Knots that were discovered or created before 1979 (the year the IGKT updated ABOK).
Hook: A line that makes a sharp curve or a shape resembling a hook.
Knot Component: A knot element or knotting technique used to make a fusion knot.
Line: The material used to tie a knot (e.g., rope, paracord, wire, etc.)
Loop: A circle of line that crosses itself.
P: A line that is looped to look like the letter P or the mirror image of the letter P.
Pentaradial: Lines or knots splayed out in a configuration characteristic of echinoderms (i.e., sea stars, sea urchins and sea cucumbers). Similar in appearance to a pentagon.
Rotate: To turn a loop 180 degrees around an axis.
Running End: The end of a line that’s being used to make the knot.
Singe: Scorching the end of a cut line to hold it in place and keep it from fraying.
Standing End: The end of a line that is not involved in making the knot.
Tuck: Inserting a line or bight through a loop or under another line.
Weave: Passing a line over and under another line.
Y-Configuration: An arrangement of bights and running ends in the shape of the letter Y.
Section 1
Flipping the Double Coin
Double Coin Knot
A decorative variant of the Carrick Bend, the Double Coin Knot’s structure and elegant simplicity make it the perfect base for multiple fusion knots. This was the knot that introduced me to the world of decorative knots.
Knot Components: Historical Knot
1. Make a clockwise P with the ascending rope on top the loop created.
2. Drop the right running end down over the loop of the P.
3. Bight the running end and weave it under the “leg” of the P, over…
4. …the rope above it, under the top of the P, and then over itself.
5. Tuck the bight under the bottom of the P.
6. Pull the running end out until the knot is firm.