In Chinese Knotting 3, two variations of the plafond knot are explored, the first is the horizontal plafond knot 横藻井結 (橫藻井结) [héng zǎo jǐng jié]. In this configuration, looking somewhat like a cross between the sauvastika and the plafond knot, I wondered what manipulations would work. The side loops, if too short would pull into the body of the knot and the whole thing would fall apart, but the top loop can’t just pull in. With the top loop shortened, it looks like this:

I suspect it’s not destined to become my favourite knot…