Thank You: A Sailor's Knot Tutorial

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!!!

I've had a couple of requests for a tutorial on the sailor's knot that I used on this card so I put one together while making this card. It's really quite easy, as you'll see!

First, a bit about this card. The base is River Rock and the patterned paper is more from K & Co's Sea Glass Mat Stack. I do love this paper. For the image, I inked up this stamp from Flourishes' Seaside Life set with Versamark, then River Rock, stamped it on Baja Breeze card stock, and then heat embossed with clear detail embossing powder. Finally, I cut it out and popped it up on top of my sailor's knot. The sentiment was stamped with Bayou Blue, then I added some paper piercing and a few flat backed pearls.

Now, on to the tutorial. I'm using double lengths of yarn for my knot, but you don't have to. I prefer a wider knot so that's why I use double lengths of yarn.

Here's what I use because I want the look of cotton rope. You can use any of a number of types of fiber, but this is what I prefer. I got this at Wal*Mart.



1. Cut your yarn lengths. You'll want your length to be about 3 times the length of your finished knot and tails. This length just makes it easier to work with. When it's finished, I'll wrap my knot and tails around this piece of patterned paper to add to the card.



Notice I notched the sides of the paper to cut down on bulk around the edges. You don't have to do this but it makes for a smoother layer, IMO.



2. Take one piece of yarn and arrange it like this:



3. Take your second piece and arrange it on top of the first in this manner:



4. Now, bring the second piece down like this (note: your first piece will pretty much stay in the same position until you're finished):



5. And over and under like this:



6. And over and under again like this (you can now see the knot has taken it's final shape):



7. Grasp all four tails (the two on the left with your left hand and the two on the right with your right hand) and gently tighten the knot by pulling the tails. Try to pull all of the tails with equal tension to keep the knot even. It won't be perfect at first. You'll end up with something like this:



8. Then you'll just need to work with it, pull first one tail and then another to get it even and to lie flat. To accomplish this, pinch the knot between your left thumb and index finger and pull the right tails to snug them down. Then switch hands to snug down the left tails. If you're using double lengths of yarn as I am, you'll probably also need to untwist one or more pieces of yarn to make sure you have a smooth, flat knot.


Your knot is done! Here's how I attach it to paper to add to a card.

First, I use a little tape runner to give me something to just tack down the tails. I'll add a dab on the front (preferably where another element will cover it up) and then on the back and stick the tails down.


Here's the front--I pull each end a little before I stick them down. Not too much or you'll arch you paper--just enough to keep the strands of yarn smooth and flat. You can stick the knot down with a little glue dot if you want, also; I usually do.



Then I trim and tape down the tails on the back and it's ready to add to my card. Since the yarn adds some bulk in the center, I'll pop it up on Pop Dots.


The finished card again. I hope this tutorial helps. If you have any other questions, just shoot me an email!


Thanks for stopping by today. There's still time to get in on the blog candy here. I'll choose the winner late tonight and post it right after midnight. Good luck!

~Supplies~
Stamps: Seaside Life (Flourishes)
Paper: River Rock (SU!); Sea Glass Mat Stack (K & Co.)
Ink: Versamark, River Rock, Bayou Blue (SU!)
Accessories: Pop Dots, flat back pearls (craft store); Fine Detail clear embossing powder (Judykins); heat gun; scalloped border punch (SU!); cotton yarn; paper piercer (Ornare); mat/template (SU!)