Tag: Turks head knot

Throwback Thursday: long Turks-head knot

On By CarynIn Craft, Uncategorized

This throwback only goes back two years, in 2024 I made my Dad a long Turks-head knot pencil grip with hemp string.

Photo description: hemp string wrapped around a yellow pencil in a woven pattern made in June 2024

I asked for hints for his birthday and he mentioned that the pencil grip doesn’t fit on mechanical pencils.

Photo description: same pencil grip on a new yellow pencil two years later next to a plastic mechanical pencil

So I made him some more.

Photo description: mechanical pencils with different colored hemp knots in different patterns

I’m still not confident with knot naming. The pencils in the photo above are laid out in the order I made them, from left to right. Rather than name the knots, I’ll tell you what went wrong. The first one I forgot to split the third time around so ended up with a different pattern. The second was too tight and I was not able to double the knot. The third was a little looser, so I doubled most of the knot, but couldn’t squeeze in the final doubling. The fourth I changed color and was still only able to double most, but not all, of the knot. The fifth I deliberately didn’t split the third pass. The sixth I was able to double some, but not all. The seventh, ah the seventh, came out as I wished, with all passes doubled.

Here is the video I referenced to make my knots: A Long 4 Bight Paracord Turk’s Head Knot (21 lead 4 bight)

Turks head knot

On By CarynIn Craft

I started following a rope tying group and my bucket of things to learn overflowed. Number one on my list is learning to make a Turks head knot. This marvelous bit of knotting looks like weaving in the round and is created with a single strand, rather than a warp and a weft for flat weaving. I found a YouTube video from the Paracord guild and pulled some paracord out of my stash. I couldn’t find a suitable length of PVC pipe, so I rolled up some card stock for my form. I was able to figure out the first increase, but ran out of cord for the second increase, so mine is not as wide as in the tutorial.

Photo description: Turks head knot with rainbow colored paracord, and a Thread Zap II

I used a Thread Zap to seal off the ends and actually connect the beginning and end inside the knot. I still need to learn how to tighten the weave, sorry, knot, but I think that will come with practice. The lexicon for rope tying and weaving are definitely warring in my head.

Photo description: same Turks head knot slid onto a pencil sharpener

I did happily discover that the knot would fit over a pencil sharpener, so that is where it is currently living. I have a feeling that random tools around the house are going to sprout rope work.