Chinese Knotting: Creative Designs That Are Easy And Fun! Read Free Books and Download eBooks
Knotting, "the joining of two cords," is an old and revered art form in China and an integral part of Chinese life. Since ancient times, Chinese knots have been used for a variety of practical and decorative purposes: to record events, aid in fishing and hunting, wrap and tie items, embellish personal attire, jewelry, fashion, ornament other works of art, and communicate. The intricate knot work and magnificent color combinations not only lent elegance to everyday objects, or a touch of gaiety and enchantment, but were an aesthetic expression of Chinese folk symbolism, expressing wishes for good fortune and wealth or the joys of love and marriage. In craft book Chinese Knotting, author Lydia Chen first traces the origins, history, and symbolism of this fascinating craft, before taking the reader through the fundamental elements necessary for tying Chinese decorative knots—the materials, implements, and main processes.Step-by-step instructions are then given for the 11 basic knots, which provide the building blocks for the 14 compound knots-combinations and variations of the simple knots-that follow in the next section. The final section presents 41 knotting projects of varying difficulty. Detailed instructions, clear diagrams, and color photographs, combined with an exciting assortment of creative applications will help readers discover the relaxation, artistic satisfaction, and beautifully personalized ornamentation that Chinese Knotting can offer.
Hardcover: 116 pages
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; 2 edition (August 15, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0804833990
ISBN-13: 978-0804833998
Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.5 x 11 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #929,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #125 in Books > Children's Books > Activities, Crafts & Games > Crafts & Hobbies > Needlecrafts & Textile Crafts #138 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Crafts & Hobbies > Needlecrafts & Textile Crafts > Knots, Macrame & Rope Work #141 in Books > Children's Books > Activities, Crafts & Games > Crafts & Hobbies > Beadwork, Fashion & Jewelry
This book was recommended to me by a friend and I purchased it quite recently because I've become interested in a wider range of knotting skills than tatting, which is my main speciality.The book when it arrived was a lovely surprise. The introductory pages contain a synopsis of Chinese knotting history accompanied by full colour photographs of the knots in use to make practical and decorative items. The diagrams are clear enough though the knots very quickly become rather elaborate for a complete beginner learning straight from the book with no teacher to demonstrate. However patience and taking time to study the very accurate diagrams carefully will alleviate this problem. The other difficulty I encountered, particularly when reaching the stage of learning the Pan Chang Knot, was knowing how much string would be needed. No indication of this is given next the knots themselves though early on in the book it is mentioned that most can be tied with a length of three metre cord. Admittedly the amount required would depend on the thickness of the cord used, but some guidance would be helpful.A series of projects is provided in the third part of the book, giving inspiration and instruction in using the knots in different ways. The diagrams of the projects are rather small so you would have to practice the knots themselves diligently until you can do them easily before attempting one of the projects.However this is a very attractive book giving an interesting insight into the ancient art of Chinese knotting and I certainly recommend it for anyone interested in Chinese culture and for anyone who would like to learn Chinese knotwork.
It may seem easy but I still cannot figure out the basic of knots. Seems like the author might have left out the tips and tricks section. In any case I use it for the terms, information on materials, design ideas, and inspiration. It is a nice book to have in your collection. But if you really want to know how to make the knots I still say Youtube, however not every knot is found on YouTube. But if you can at least make a few of the knots it helps in creating some beautiful pieces.
I saw this book almost 20 years ago at at a friend's house. Was happy to come accross it but found it very basic. Wish they had some more elaborate designs. I wanted to make mala beads and wanted to make a pretty knot/tassle end.
I borrowed this from the library and decided there was enough in it to buy it. The diagrams are large and very clear. I took off one star because there were no enough examples of how to use the beautiful knots.
This book is Sooo inclusive. I never done Chinese knotting before. i got on and bought 5 books , All are between 4 and 5 stars. this book is The best and i dont really need any other if i only wanna learn how to do the knots . The other books didn't have all these knots nor the really nice easy way of making knots by using pins. The other books use hand only technique which is not that easy and i end up lossing my way while trying to do big knots . For example the butter fly knot which is the hardest knots on the other books and mostly the top creative one, is really hard to do it using only my hand but its soooooo easy using pins which made me more enthusiast to do the harder ones like the dragon , the fish or the malty knots necklaces . I really advice any beginner or above to get this book. If u need inspiration to use the knots on cool modern projects, like i phone bags, accessory or daily life items , This book is NOT for u :P . Its just show u the knots and its history and how to make it , but if ur looking for more bigger knots and easy way to make it , u Should Buy this book (Chinese Knotting: Creative Designs that are Easy and Fun! [Hardcover]). Hope u like this book as much as i did and forgive me if u didn't agree with me . Heba from KSA/UK
This beautiful book gives a clear and approachable introduction to the Chinese tradition of decorative knotting. It starts with a few pages of the craft's history in China, and includes some gorgeous examples sure to inspire just about any reader. How-to comes next, with a discussion of the tools (few and inexpensive) and materials of this technique. After the basics, another section shows "compound" knots, built from repetitions and recursions of the elementary techniques. Chen ends this book with a gallery section. This presents a range of attractive and practical applications, not just lovely works in themselves but inspiration to the budding knotter.You can approach the craft as a unique body of knowledge in itself, or as a complement to other techniques. Either way, this warrants at least a little of any crafter's time - or, in the author's case, a lifetime of fascination.-- wiredweird
I just started into Chinese knotting. Though this book has beautiful photos/ideas, the projects are more advanced so the instruction photos/directions were insufficient for me to grasp how to create the beautiful projects. If you're a novice, look elsewhere. I returned mine. Gave it 4 stars just because it isn't for everyone.
I know some traditional macrame & love making my own string & bead jewelry, but I know absolutely nothing about Chinese knotting, so I got this book hoping it would start me off and get me up and running on my own. It's hard cover with glossy photos on every page, TONS of very clear, hand-drawn picture instructions with accompanying text, and lots and lots of photos of real examples. Being a beginner, it was great for me, starting off with the most basic and easiest designs, and gradually getting more complex as the book goes on. But even if you're not a beginner, it's still chock-full of excellent information for very intricate and difficult designs as well.What I liked was that it also included some history about what decorative knotting was used for, and how it was used, throughout the ages in China. It was interesting to find out that most ancient knots were made with silk, and unfortunately hardly any from ancient times had survived, being that silk was so delicate and rotted so easily. It was also interesting to find out that certain knots were exclusive to royalty that only they could wear. I had no idea knotting was used so extensively, or that the art was almost lost completely at one point, saved in the memories of only a few skilled people who (fortunately) were able to pass the skills and information on, and revive the art of knotting.This book isn't over-wordy or too lengthy, therefore it's not intimidating, nor does it talk down to the reader. It just gets right down to business and is packed cover-to-cover with excellent information and all the instructions one could need to be able to figure it all out with the book alone. I thought perhaps I'd need to get 2-3 books on Chinese knotting to really "get it," but once I got this book first (fortunately), I didn't have a need to buy any other ones on the subject. It covered everything, from remedial to expert level.
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