Jekyll2022-08-06T20:14:09-07:00http://localhost:4000/feed/tag/crown.xmlKnotty Notions ][ CrownA decorative knotting blog.Carol WangDesigning a beaded sinnet stand2012-11-04T00:00:00-07:002012-11-04T00:00:00-07:00http://localhost:4000/prototyping/sennit/designing-a-beaded-sinnet-stand<p>I'm taking one of those massive open online courses from <a href="http://www.coursera.org/" title="Free online university classes">Coursera</a>, in particular, the <a href="http://www.coursera.org/course/design" title="class description">Design class</a> and foolishly decided, as my class project, to work on my current obsession, making a <a href="/sinnet/crown/beaded-sampler" title="braids formed by knotting, with beads">beaded sinnet</a> stand. As part of my class, I'm supposed to gather 5 peers who are experiencing the same problem and interview them (among other things, that will be revealed to me as the class progresses). So, I need <strong><em>your</em></strong> help for my class! More on that at the end of the post.
<a href="/crown/beaded-crown-sinnet-sampler.html" title="read more about"><img src="http://www.chineseknotting.org/sinnet/crown/gallery/beaded/dark-blue-silver-lined-sinnet.jpg"></a></p>
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<p>Now, I've made a prototype from a broken camera stand (the ball head mount broke and I asked my husband to remove the centre post because I <em>knew</em> I'd be modding it into a stand of some sort... 8), some heavy duty wire from the hardware store and an elastic band so I can change things. I made wire... frames for both 4 strands and 6 strands as you'll see below.</p>
<p>Backing up a little:
<ol>
<li> A <strong>sinnet</strong> is like a braid made from knots.
<li> The <strong>crown sinnet</strong> is known to kumists as the <strong>strawberry end knot</strong>.
<li> The crown sinnet is known to boondogglers by a variety of stitch names, including: <strong>circle</strong> or <strong>barrel</strong>, also <strong>square</strong> and <strong>box</strong> if done in a columnar fashion rather than spiraling.
<li> Adding beads to a sinnet, requires the knot to form above the braiding point where the beads sit so that the beads are trapped, sit properly, and do not pop above the knot.
<li> Sinnetting (I'm making up a new word!) on a stand is different than braiding because in braiding it's (usually) a simple and symmetric exchange of strands. With <em>sinnetting</em> the extra and usually off-centre manipulation to tie the knots with weighted strands means that the mirror needs to be as small as possible for more stability.
</ol>
</p>
<p>To guide the strands of my sinnet to form each knot well above the point of braiding, I added frame pieces made from wire (in my prototype, I can see them made from plastic, wood or metal pieces in a finished product) that had the added benefit of resolutely separating the unknotted strands. You can see the shape from the pictures:
<a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/projects/knotting-stand/top-view.jpg" title="top view of prototype knotting stand"><img src="http://www.chineseknotting.org/projects/knotting-stand/top-view-small.jpg" alt="top view of prototype knotting stand" align="left"></a><a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/projects/knotting-stand/prototype-sketch.jpg" title="sketch of desired effect"><img src="http://www.chineseknotting.org/projects/knotting-stand/prototype-sketch-small.jpg" alt="sketch of desired effect" align="center"></a><a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/projects/knotting-stand/side-angle.jpg" title="3/4 view of prototype knotting stand"><img src="http://www.chineseknotting.org/projects/knotting-stand/side-angle-small.jpg" alt="3/4 view of prototype knotting stand" align="right"></a></p>
<p>So, I am supposed to interview 5 people with similar problems. Let us say, for the sake of argument (and to cast a wider net that might actually catch 5-ish people by tomorrow 9PM EST (Sorry!! I'm a procrastinator... 8( )) the problem is tying sinnets on a stand <strong>or</strong> braiding with beads on a stand <strong>or</strong> tying beaded sinnets (by whatever means).</p>
<p>The questions are:
<ol>
<li> What are you trying to make?
<li> What similar things do you make?
<li> What tools do you currently use?
<li> What annoys you the most about the task with your current setup?
<li> What works well with your current setup?
<li> What are you looking for in a tool to assist in your task?
<li> Anything else you'd like to say? 8)
</ol>
</p>
<p>Please try <strong>not to be</strong> brief!</p>Carol WangI'm taking one of those massive open online courses from Coursera, in particular, the Design class and foolishly decided, as my class project, to work on my current obsession, making a beaded sinnet stand. As part of my class, I'm supposed to gather 5 peers who are experiencing the same problem and interview them (among other things, that will be revealed to me as the class progresses). So, I need your help for my class! More on that at the end of the post.Designing a beaded sinnet stand2012-11-04T00:00:00-07:002012-11-04T00:00:00-07:00http://localhost:4000/prototyping/sennit/designing-a-beaded-sinnet-standI'm taking one of those massive open online courses from <a href="http://www.coursera.org/" title="Free online university classes">Coursera</a>, in particular, the <a href="http://www.coursera.org/course/design" title="class description">Design class</a> and foolishly decided, as my class project, to work on my current obsession, making a <a href="/sinnet/crown/beaded-sampler" title="braids formed by knotting, with beads">beaded sinnet</a> stand. As part of my class, I'm supposed to gather 5 peers who are experiencing the same problem and interview them (among other things, that will be revealed to me as the class progresses). So, I need <strong><em>your</em></strong> help for my class! More on that at the end of the post.
<a href="/sinnet/crown/beaded-sampler" title="read more about"><img src="http://www.chineseknotting.org/sinnet/crown/gallery/beaded/dark-blue-silver-lined-sinnet.jpg"></a>
<!--more-->
Now, I've made a prototype from a broken camera stand (the ball head mount broke and I asked my husband to remove the centre post because I <em>knew</em> I'd be modding it into a stand of some sort... 8), some heavy duty wire from the hardware store and an elastic band so I can change things. I made wire... frames for both 4 strands and 6 strands as you'll see below.
Backing up a little:
<ol>
<li> A <strong>sinnet</strong> is like a braid made from knots.
<li> The <strong>crown sinnet</strong> is known to kumists as the <strong>strawberry end knot</strong>.
<li> The crown sinnet is known to boondogglers by a variety of stitch names, including: <strong>circle</strong> or <strong>barrel</strong>, also <strong>square</strong> and <strong>box</strong> if done in a columnar fashion rather than spiraling.
<li> Adding beads to a sinnet, requires the knot to form above the braiding point where the beads sit so that the beads are trapped, sit properly, and do not pop above the knot.
<li> Sinnetting (I'm making up a new word!) on a stand is different than braiding because in braiding it's (usually) a simple and symmetric exchange of strands. With <em>sinnetting</em> the extra and usually off-centre manipulation to tie the knots with weighted strands means that the mirror needs to be as small as possible for more stability.
</ol>
To guide the strands of my sinnet to form each knot well above the point of braiding, I added frame pieces made from wire (in my prototype, I can see them made from plastic, wood or metal pieces in a finished product) that had the added benefit of resolutely separating the unknotted strands. You can see the shape from the pictures:
<a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/projects/knotting-stand/top-view.jpg" title="top view of prototype knotting stand"><img src="http://www.chineseknotting.org/projects/knotting-stand/top-view-small.jpg" alt="top view of prototype knotting stand" align="left"></a><a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/projects/knotting-stand/prototype-sketch.jpg" title="sketch of desired effect"><img src="http://www.chineseknotting.org/projects/knotting-stand/prototype-sketch-small.jpg" alt="sketch of desired effect" align="center"></a><a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/projects/knotting-stand/side-angle.jpg" title="3/4 view of prototype knotting stand"><img src="http://www.chineseknotting.org/projects/knotting-stand/side-angle-small.jpg" alt="3/4 view of prototype knotting stand" align="right"></a>
So, I am supposed to interview 5 people with similar problems. Let us say, for the sake of argument (and to cast a wider net that might actually catch 5-ish people by tomorrow 9PM EST (Sorry!! I'm a procrastinator... 8( )) the problem is tying sinnets on a stand <strong>or</strong> braiding with beads on a stand <strong>or</strong> tying beaded sinnets (by whatever means).
The questions are:
<ol>
<li> What are you trying to make?
<li> What similar things do you make?
<li> What tools do you currently use?
<li> What annoys you the most about the task with your current setup?
<li> What works well with your current setup?
<li> What are you looking for in a tool to assist in your task?
<li> Anything else you'd like to say? 8)
</ol>
Please try <strong>not to be</strong> brief!Carol WangI'm taking one of those massive open online courses from Coursera, in particular, the Design class and foolishly decided, as my class project, to work on my current obsession, making a beaded sinnet stand. As part of my class, I'm supposed to gather 5 peers who are experiencing the same problem and interview them (among other things, that will be revealed to me as the class progresses). So, I need your help for my class! More on that at the end of the post.Good Luck: Heptagonal2009-02-11T00:00:00-08:002009-02-11T00:00:00-08:00http://localhost:4000/good%20luck/good-luck-heptagonal<p><a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/luck/gallery/7-luck.jpg" title="bigger"><img src="http://www.chineseknotting.org/luck/gallery/7-luck-stamp.jpg" alt="heptagonal (7 sided) good luck knot" align="left" /></a> Behold the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heptagon">Heptagonal</a> <a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/luck/">good luck knot</a>. An alternate term for a seven sided figure is <a href="http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Heptagon.html">septagon</a>, but in an effort to minimize confusion, let’s stick with “heptagon”.
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<p>I consider a <strong>polygonal knot</strong> to be a rotationally symmetric knot where the structural loops are centrally located with one ear for each structural loop. There are a number of square knots that do not have triangular or hexagonal variants (eg. the <a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/overhand/thumb-flower-big.jpg">sauvastika knot</a>). The most interesting ones, however, usually have triangular variants and can also be expanded without limit. The problem with polygonal (<em>n-gon</em>) knots is that as <em>n</em> gets large, the hole in the centre of the knot gets large, and the knot as a whole loses stability. It is hard to tension properly and the knot becomes fragile. The solution to this problem is to overlap the structural loops more which shrinks the central hole and also increases the surface area of the points of contact, which means more friction, which means a more stable knot. If you ever have the opportunity, try tying a knot with cord of the same size, one in rayon and one in nylon and see the difference the more slippery rayon makes.</p>
<p>The usual… formula (?) for overlaps is: one for triangular or square, two for pentagonal or hexagonal, three for heptagonal or octagonal, four or more for anything bigger (not that polygonal type knots are often constructed that are much bigger than octagonal). Of course, you can overlap more than necessary for interesting effects (maybe I should do an overlap sequence when I’m done with good luck knots and crowning?).</p>
<p>On a whim, I decided to tie this knot with an overlap of 2. You can see from the picture that the hole in the middle is much larger than usual. Possibly because of the doubled cords of the good luck knot, this knot has no issues with stability. To more clearly see what is going on, have a look at the <a href="http://www.sonoma.edu/users/w/wilsonst/papers/Stars/ex/7-2.html">{7/2}</a> versus the <a href="http://www.sonoma.edu/users/w/wilsonst/papers/Stars/ex/7-3.html">{7/3}</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_polygon">star polygons</a>.</p>Carol WangBehold the Heptagonal good luck knot. An alternate term for a seven sided figure is septagon, but in an effort to minimize confusion, let’s stick with “heptagon”.Good Luck: Nonagonal2009-02-11T00:00:00-08:002009-02-11T00:00:00-08:00http://localhost:4000/good%20luck/good-luck-nonagonal<p><a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/luck/gallery/9-luck.jpg" title="bigger"><img src="http://www.chineseknotting.org/luck/gallery/9-luck-stamp.jpg" alt="nonagonal (9 sided) good luck knot" align="left" /></a> Last but not least is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonagon">nonagonal</a> <a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/luck/">good luck knot</a>. More accurately <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerical_prefix">Greek vs Latin</a>, the term <strong>enneagonon</strong> is more “correct”, but <strong>nonagon</strong> is the more <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5ohtlewREI">popular</a> and commonly used term. Plus there’s this whole <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneagram_of_Personality">ennegram/enneagram</a> personality thing to confuse matters. Best to stick with <strong>nonagon</strong>, am I right?!? 8)
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<p><strong>Note:</strong> I have an undergrad degree in Math and Computer Science, plus dad was a Math professor for many decades, but I’m no authority or specialist in geometry by any stretch of the imagination. This is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_science">pop-sci</a> level of analysis and at any time a real mathematician could step in and tell us I’m entirely wrong. 8) I hope not. Not that I don’t welcome real mathematicians (I can’t even tell you how long I looked for the term “star polygon” which I just knew had to exist…) but I’m just hoping I’m not too far wrong. 8)</p>
<p>So, to make this knot I used a paper template. If I was carrying around my hole puncher like I sometimes do, I could have made a 9 holed template, but all I had was my scissors (and some paper), so with a casual folding attitude, I made a 12 holed template. Picked 9 of the biggest holes (sometimes folds that were on an inner layer don’t get cut as well as the outer layers) to pull my loops through and crowned away. Similarly, my <a href="/gluck/heptagonal">heptagonal good luck knot</a> was constructed using a template with 8 holes. I used an overlap of 3 for this knot and the structural centre is visibly <em>much</em> thicker than the previous knots.</p>
<p>Ah, I feel <a href="/gluck/pentagonal">much better</a> now and I was going to stop at this point unless you want me to keep going. Should we see how many overlaps we need until the structural centre goes spherical? 8)</p>Carol WangLast but not least is the nonagonal good luck knot. More accurately Greek vs Latin, the term enneagonon is more “correct”, but nonagon is the more popular and commonly used term. Plus there’s this whole ennegram/enneagram personality thing to confuse matters. Best to stick with nonagon, am I right?!? 8)Good Luck Variations 1: Chrysanthemum2009-01-22T00:00:00-08:002009-01-22T00:00:00-08:00http://localhost:4000/good%20luck/good-luck-variations-1-chrysanthemum<p><a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/luck/chrysanthemum-big.jpg" title="bigger"><img src="http://www.chineseknotting.org/luck/chrysanthemum.jpg" alt="the Japanese chrysanthemum knot" align="left" /></a><a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/luck/good-luck-big.jpg" title="bigger"><img src="http://www.chineseknotting.org/luck/good-luck.jpg" alt="the good luck knot" align="right" /></a> The <strong>good luck knot (吉祥結)</strong>, a name coined by Lydia Chen who wrote the seminal book <a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/book/#chen1">Chinese Knotting</a> in both Chinese and English, is based on the <strong>crown knot</strong>. Usually the crown knot is tied in sequence to create a <strong>sinnet</strong>, a braid composed of knots. The best static (not animated) instructions I have found on the net for the crown sinnets are by <a href="http://www.boondoggleman.com">The Boondoggle Man</a> who, unfortunately, calls them the <strong>square stitch</strong> and the <strong>circle stitch</strong>.
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<p>The basic crown knot tied the same way each time will result in a <a href="http://www.boondoggleman.com/prj_circle_stitch.htm">round sinnet</a>. The crown knot tied in alternating directions will result in a <a href="http://www.boondoggleman.com/prj_square_stitch.htm">square sinnet</a>.</p>
<p>The good luck knot is a double crown knot tied on the bight (using loops formed from a single cord, tie 2 crown knots in sequence). The traditional good luck knot is tied in alternating directions to give a nice crisp angular shape (square when tied with 4 loops, pictured to the right). The non-alternating, round version in Japanese literature is the <strong>chrysanthemum knot</strong> (菊結び, pictured to the left). Admittedly, the difference is fairly subtle visually, but some find that when hanging the knots that the Japanese chrysanthemum hangs better owing to the smidgen extra tilt towards centre.</p>
<p>And, because nothing can be that simple, the <a href="http://www.knots.or.kr/maedup/knots/man/maedup/man_maedup04.htm">Korean chrysanthemum knot</a> (국화매듭) is <a href="http://www.chineseknotting.org/mystic/">the mystic knot</a>, an entirely different knot. In my “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565912322/skateorg">Maedeup: The Art of Traditional Korean Knots</a>” by <a href="http://www.knots.or.kr/maedup/info/info.htm">Kim Hee-jin</a>, the good luck knot in Korean is the <a href="http://www.knots.or.kr/maedup/knots/man/maedup/man_maedup11.htm">Dongsimyeol Maedeup</a> (동심결매듭) translated as “One Mind Knot”. That sounds like a machine translation that didn’t get a once over from real translator. One of the other knots in this grid is called a “crawfish eyes knot.” Cool, although the translated names of many of the other ones make more sense.</p>
<p>Fun, eh? 8) Hey, if you (gentle reader) are a Chinese, Japanese, or Korean (reading and typing) crafter and would like to help me translate things from time to time, I’d love to <a href="mailto:mistress@knottynotions.com">hear from you</a>!</p>Carol WangThe good luck knot (吉祥結), a name coined by Lydia Chen who wrote the seminal book Chinese Knotting in both Chinese and English, is based on the crown knot. Usually the crown knot is tied in sequence to create a sinnet, a braid composed of knots. The best static (not animated) instructions I have found on the net for the crown sinnets are by The Boondoggle Man who, unfortunately, calls them the square stitch and the circle stitch.