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DIY KNOTWORK BUTTONS & FROGS By Julia Watt
ABOUT THIS PATTERN Many knitted and crocheted items can be enhanced by making your own buttons or closures that
complement the colours and design of the garment. In this free pattern I provide detailed instructions for
making simple buttons as well as several styles of fancy closure.
(You can see more of my knotwork at my Etsy store: LanesEndKnots.)
CREDITS All photographs and diagrams by Julia Watt, except for Figs. 6 and 7 which are by Laurie Peace of
Knottingham Designs.
CORD FOR KNOTWORK Use any of the following types of cord:
1.5 mm - 2 mm braided cord (nylon or polyester)
1.5 mm - 2 mm satin/rattail cord (nylon, polyester, silk or rayon).
3 mm flat cord (nylon or polyester)
Nylon cord is strong and easy to work with. An additional advantage of nylon cord is that the ends can be
sealed by simply melting them with a lighter (hold the cut end near the flame and move it closer until the
raw edge melts). Braided or flat cord is easier to work with than satin cord (since it is less slippery), but
satin cord looks dressier.
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Polyester cord is just as easy to work with as nylon, but it does not melt so cut ends should be glued to
prevent unraveling. (If you attempt to seal the end of a cord using a lighter and the cord singes rather than
melting, then the cord is probably polyester.) Braided or flat cord is easier to work with than satin cord
(since it is less slippery), but satin cord looks dressier.
Silk and rayon cords are beautiful, but they are very difficult to work with since the fibres snag on rough
surfaces (like fingernails and callouses) and the cords are extremely slippery. Like polyester, the ends of
silk and rayon cord should be glued to prevent unraveling.
Where to buy cord: I purchase my cord from Tangles’N Knots, an online store that sells braided nylon cord (‘Chinese knot
cord’) and satin nylon cord in a huge selection of colours and sizes, as well as selling hard-to-find 3 mm
flat nylon cord. Tangles’N Knots allows you to order cord by 10-yard (9 m) lengths, or by the roll.
You may also be able to find cord in your local craft store (many of the larger chains are starting to carry
it). Some fabric stores also carry satin cord.
TOOLS & OTHER SUPPLIES Foam block and pins
Extra-large, blunt darning needle (your cord must be able to fit through the eye)
Sewing needle and sewing thread to match cord
Blunt tweezers (eyebrow tweezers work well)
Optional: fabric glue (can be used to seal the ends of non-nylon cord)
SIMPLE BUTTONS
CHINESE BUTTON KNOT
You can alter the size of the button knot by using
a different size of cord or by doubling (or
tripling) the knot. I have only provided
instructions for doubling the knot, but you should
be able to work out how to triple the knot quite
easily.
I usually use double button knots for my buttons.
Double button knots are no harder to tie than
single button knots, but they do take longer to
tighten (triple button knots are even worse in this
regard).
To attach buttons made from button knots, just
sew the two loose ends of cord into the inside of
the garment (see Fig. 5).
Instructions Starting from the center of your length of cord, tie
the button knot as shown in Chart 1 (for a single
knot) or Chart 2 (for a double knot). Use pins to
hold the cord in place while you work (Fig. 2).
Fig. 1 Button knots in 2 mm satin nylon cord. The top two are single button knots, the bottom three are double button knots.
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You may find it easier to work the knot if you thread the working end of
the cord through a blunt darning needle (this gives you much better control
over the cord).
Once you have finished the knot, remove the pins and gradually tighten the
knot by working out the slack (use the tweezers once the knot gets too tight
to work with your fingers). As you tighten the knot it will naturally take on
a spherical shape.
When working the knot keep in mind that, while it is easier to tie the knot
if you keep a lot of slack in the cord (the illustrations in the charts show the
knots tied with a lot of slack), you will need to work all this slack out in
order to finish your button. Thus, use only as much slack as you actually
need while tying your knot. (You will need a lot of slack the first couple of times you tie the knot, but you
will find that you are able to get rid of a lot of the excess slack with practice).
Important: do NOT attempt to rush the tightening processes by just yanking on the free ends (this will
hopelessly distort your knot). You must gradually work the slack out of the knot, a bit at a time (moving
from one end to the other or, more efficiently, from the middle to each end), so that the knot retains the
correct geometry.
Tip: a double button knot will require about 70 cm (80 in) of 2 mm satin cord, but use a good deal more
than this the first time you tie it. (You will obviously need more cord than this if you are tying a frog rather
than a simple button.)
FROGS (FANCY CLOSURES) Frogs are decorative closures that consist of a button, or button hole, backed by ornamental knotwork. In
this pattern I provide instructions for three simple frogs (using the double-coin, plafond and pipa knots).
For those who enjoy a challenge, I have also provided instructions for making a more elaborate frog using
the pan chang knot.
To attach frogs to your garment you can sew the free-ends of
the cord to the inside of the garment (see Fig 5), or you can
sew the frog to the garment from the top (using thread to
match the cord so the stitches do not show).
DOUBLE-COIN KNOT FROGS
Instructions Start with the center of your length of cord (if making a
button hole), or the button knot (if making a button) in the
position marked by an ‘x’ on Chart 3.
Tie the knot as shown in Chart 3, using pins to hold the cord
in place as needed. End the knot by weaving in the loose
ends (as shown in steps 4 to 6 of the chart). Tip: I
recommend securing the ends by gluing or stitching them in
place.
If desired, you can add a strand of differently coloured cord
to create a triple double-coin knot as shown in Chart 4.
(Thread the working end of the cord through a blunt darning
needle then use the needle to weave the cord through the knot.)
Fig. 2
Fig. 3 Triple double-coin frogs in 2 mm satin nylon cord.
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When finished working the knot, remove all the pins and
gradually tighten the knot however much you desire by
working out the slack. (Unlike the other knots described in this
pattern, the double-coin knot does not need to be fully
tightened: it is frequently left somewhat loose so that gaps
show through the knot.) Make sure all the button loops end up
the same size and all the button knots are held the same
distance from the frog.
If you have made a triple double-coin, I recommend that you
fix the strands in place (so the middle strand cannot pop out on
top of the two bordering strands) before attaching the frog to
your garment. To fix the strands in place, with a sharp needle
and thread to match to outermost strand of cord, pass the
needle horizontally through all three strands in several places
to anchor the strands to one another.
Finally, with thread to match the cord, sew the finished frog to
your garment (there are no free ends, so the double-coin frog
must be sewn onto the garment from the top).
PLAFOND KNOT FROGS
Instructions Start with the center of your length of cord (if making a button
hole), or the button knot (if making a button) in the position
marked by an ‘x’ on Chart 5.
Tie the knot as shown in Chart 5, using pins to hold the cord in place as needed.
When finished working the knot, remove all the pins and gradually tighten the knot by working out the
slack. Make sure all the button loops end up the same size and all the button knots are held the same
distance from the frog.
You can leave the ends free and use them to attach the frog to the garment (use a blunt darning needle to
pull the ends through the fabric, then sew the ends in place on the inside of the garment, as shown in Fig.
5), or hide the ends behind the frog (secure the ends by weaving them into the knot and gluing or stitching
in place).
PIPA KNOT FROGS
Instructions If making a button hole, start at one end of your length of cord.
If making a button, start with the button knot in the position
marked by an ‘x’ on Chart 6.
Tie the knot as shown in Chart 6, using pins to hold the cord in
place as needed.
When finished working the knot, remove all the pins and
gradually tighten the knot by working out the slack. Make sure
all the button loops end up the same size and all the button knots
are held the same distance from the frog.
You can leave the ends free and use them to attach the frog to
the garment (use a blunt darning needle to pull the ends through
Fig. 6 Pipa knot frogs in braided nylon cord. Photo by Laurie Peace of Knottingham Designs.
Fig. 4 Plafond frog buttonhole in 3 mm flat nylon (used with a regular button).
Fig. 5 Wrong-side view showing how the two loose ends of the plafond frog are sewn in place.
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the fabric, then sew the ends in place on the inside of the garment, as shown in Fig. 5), or hide the ends
behind the frog (secure the ends by weaving them into the knot and gluing or stitching in place).
PAN CHANG KNOT FROGS
Instructions Start with the center of your length of cord (if making a button
hole), or the button knot (if making a button) in the position
marked by an ‘x’ on Chart 7.
Tie the knot as shown in Chart 7, using two different colours of
pins to serve as guides.
When finished working the knot, remove all the pins and
gradually tighten the knot by working out the slack. Make sure
all the button loops end up the same size and all the button
knots are held the same distance from the frog.
You can leave the ends free and use them to attach the frog to
the garment (use a blunt darning needle to pull the ends through
the fabric, then sew the ends in place on the inside of the
garment, as shown in Fig. 5), or hide the ends behind the frog
(secure the ends by weaving them into the knot and gluing or
stitching in place).
Fig. 7 Pan chang knot frogs in braided nylon cord. Photo by Laurie Peace of Knottingham Designs.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Photo tutorials by Free Macrame Patterns: Button knot
Double-coin knot
Plafond knot
Pipa knot
Pan chang knot
Video tutorials by Tying It All Together: Button knot
Double-coin knot
Plafond knot
Pipa knot
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CHART 1: Single Button Knot
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CHART 2: Double Button Knot
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CHART 3: Double-Coin Knot
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CHART 4: Triple Double-Coin Knot
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CHART 5: Plafond Knot
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CHART 6: Pipa Knot
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CHART 7: Pan Chang Knot