How to Tie a Sliding Chinese Button Knot Necklace

Knotting is an ancient art form China, and the knots formed with beautiful silk cord have been used for thousands of years for both practical and decorative purposes. These ornamental knots were often used to add elegance to otherwise functional objects including hair pins, eyeglass cases and lanterns. These intricate designs are not only beautiful, but they hold special meanings as well--from the double coin knot used to represent prosperity to the pan change knot which represents the Buddhist concept of the cyclical nature of all existence. Chinese knots are usually made with silk cords and in the traditional red, black, and gold colors. You can use the Chinese Button Knot to hold beads in place and just add knot after knot for a design.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Silk cord
• Beads

1. Make a loop in the cord and hold the bottom of the loop with your left thumb and forefinger.

2. Make another loop over the top of the first loop.

3. Take the end down through the loop on the right up through the middle, and down through the left loop. You will notice that this creates a center space. You will need to know where the center space is in your knots so you can tighten the knots later.

4. Take the end across the top of the fixed end. Take the end down through the right loop, under 2 cords and up through the center.

5. Before you tighten the knot, thread the other cord through the center area. So you have the cord with the button knot and now the other cord.

6. In the next step, you need to gently pull and tighten your knot into shape. There will be a few loops that might stick out, so just turn the knot over and continue to pull the knot into the shape.

7. For the necklace design, create two Chinese button knots close to each other. Then slide on a large glass bead, and create two more Chinese button knots. Continue this pattern until you need to make the slider closing knots.

8. Pull enough of the other end through to create another knot with the other cord. This second knot has to be tied around the first cord and has to end up with the first cord coming through the center area. As you create each loop, the part of the loop that goes up must go behind the other cord and the part the part that goes down must go in front of the other cord.
   
   Tighten the second knot. Clip the ends of both knots and glue or singe the ends.