How to Make a Twine Cross

Using plain old twine, you can make a beautiful cross.

Making a cross out of twine can be done on your own or in a large group such as a Sunday school class or church gathering. Using your finger and a few pieces of twine you can wrap and knot the twine to form a beautiful cross to be worn as a necklace or as décor. A twine cross is a simple yet pretty religious piece for yourself or as a gift.

Things You'll Need

• Twine
• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• Matches

Instructions

1. Cut a 60-inch piece of twine. Hold one end of twine in your hand and wrap the rest around your index finger five times, keeping the wraps loose, then pull the long end of twine through the wrapping. Slowly and gently pull twine off your finger and pull either end so that it forms a thick secure knot. This will be the very top of your cross.

2. Wrap the remaining twine around your finger five times again, then tie the loose end of twine through as you did before and this time slowly pull twine off of your finger and pull the end as you push the knot towards the first knot you made. You want the knot to be secured and touching the first knot. Repeat this step with one more knot.

3. Tie your next knot as you did before, wrapping five times, however when you remove this knot and pull the end to secure it, secure it so that there is about one-quarter-inch of space between this knot and the first three knots you've made. This tiny space will be where you will tie the bar that crosses your cross. You should now have three thick knots, a small space then one more knot.

4. Tie three more knots following the last knot you tied, making sure that when you pull the loose end of twine to secure, you are pushing the knot as close to the one before it. You should now have a group of three thick knots and a group of four thick knots separated by one-quarter-inch of twine. This is the longer vertical part of your cross.

5. Take a match and light the loose ends of the twine. Blow out the flame when the twine catches and has been lit for five seconds. At this point the twine should be weak enough to pull of the loose thread hanging off. Do not cut loose ends, as this will lead to fraying and possible unraveling of the twine.

6. Cut a 30-inch piece of twine and tie it around the one-quarter-inch of space of twine you left in the vertical part of your cross, so that the ends of the twine are even and hanging off either side of the vertical piece of your cross.

7. Wrap one of the loose ends of twine around your finger five times and pull the end through to start your thick knot. When you push the wrapped twine off of your finger and pull the loose end through, push it towards the vertical knots you made for your cross and pull to secure. Repeat this step three more times.

8. Repeat step seven with the other loose end of twine on the other side of your cross. As you did before, light the remaining twine hanging off on either side of the horizontal part of your cross to secure them. You should now have seven thick knots going vertically and six thick knots horizontally which form your twine cross.

Tips & Warnings

• Always have an adult use the matches to secure ends of the twine.

References

• Domestic Church: How To Make Knotted Cord Rosaries