Book Review- The Ultimate Book of Everyday Knots

I love knot tying. The math of fancy knots and precision necessary to get them tied right, and the usefulness of being able to tie the right knot when needed.
This collection of "everyday knots" is written by one of the founders of the International Guild of Knot Tyers, Geoffrey Budworth who also wrote the Ultimate Encyclopedia of Knots and Rope Work. The book includes wonderful color photos using ropes and strings that show the knots well and very clear step by step diagrams for tying each knot. The knots each have an introduction which explains possible uses for it. At the end of the book are good resources for knot tying and supplies as well as a glossary of knot terms and a good index.
Unlike my purely decorative knot books, this was one that interested my husband as much as me. The instructions are very clear, and he enjoys more practical knots very much. The various stop knots and the hitches were his favorites. My son, who works in paracord loved the handy knots like the bottle slings.
My favorites were the various knots that can be used to tie lanyards, as well as the knots for carrying things like bottles. Following the diagrams for the knife lanyard knot in a cotton waxed 2 mm cord, I tied two very attractive knots then finished with figure 8 slip knots to make a lovely lanyard that I was able to decorate with a spot of beadwork.

The knots covered are a variety of hitches which are used to attach a line to a fixed object, two bottle slings to hang a bottle with, fixed knots which are knots which remain in place securely on a cord, some with loops for things like mountain or rock climbing, others bulky enough to form a stop on a cord, and various sliding knots that have lots of uses. 

These are reliable knots, most of them fairly simply tied. This book is perfect for a beginning knotter. It's already a favorite for my family.

Published by Skyhorse Publishing.


I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, my reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.

Friendship Bracelets and My Friendship Bracelet Maker

You know those ideas that you wish you had? My Friendship Bracelet Maker is one of those. If you've ever knotted a friendship bracelet, you remember trying to keep strands separate while you were knotting, putting a safety pin in the knee of your jeans, or using duct tape to tape the top to a table while you were working. I used to make friendship bracelets for extra money and did all those things.
It really does travel well, and you or your favorite tween or teen can use it on a lap, it can be set down when you need to take a break without having to fuss with the threads. I made a couple floss type bracelets, but then decided to try it with my favorite hemp knotting technique. It worked like a dream.

To make the bracelet shown in progress above, you'll need:
.5 mm hemp twine
beads with a hole big enough for 2 strands of the twine. I used Czechoslovakian 5 mm fire polish crystal

Cut two strands of hemp, one 20 inches, and one 2 yards. Fold both strands in half and tie an overhand knot a half inch from the fold. Then string the beads on the two short strands. Those will be your core strands. If you're using the Friendship Bracelet maker, you clamp the loop under the butterfly, then the two core strands wrap around the center peg at the bottom.

Then you'll start tying the knots. I decided for mine to tie 7 knots between each bead. The knots are worked around the center cord like this.

Tie 6 knots which will create 3 "bumps" on each side, slide a bead up the core thread, bring the two working threads around the bead, and tie 7 more knots. Continue until it's long enough to tie around your wrist, ending with a knot section. Knot one working thread and one core thread together, and do the same for the other two threads. Trim evenly. When you're ready to tie it on to a wrist, thread one set of threads through the top loop, and tie in a square knot.

Making these using the Friendship Bracelet Maker works quickly compared to traditional methods because it's so easy to keep all the threads in right alignment, and I found the same was true for regular floss type bracelets. 

The My Friendship Bracelet Maker also has a case built in to hold your floss.

Check out lots of patterns on their Friendship Bracelet Maker's Facebook page.

The Friendship Bracelet Makers are available at Michaels. There are other versions including a smaller Traveler version and a Clipboard version.

A side note- My friend Teri has been considering getting one as a gift for a mutual friend. After seeing this one, she decided it was just perfect. My daughter is eager to teach the friend how to make friendship bracelets. Teri, who also tied a lot of bracelets back in the day agreed this was just brilliant.


I received a complimentary My Friendship Bracelet Maker to review, my reviews are always my personal and honest opinion. You can read more about my review policy here.