Crown Knot Bracelet Class at BABE

In this class, offered at BABE, Bay Area Extravaganza, on Friday, November 2, we will be making a bracelet. In the morning we will learn to tie crown knots with a kumihimo disk. Tying this knot free hand fashion is difficult to master with multiple cords. The use of the disk makes it easier to learn.

The crown knot is a bit bulkier than pearls knotting and is easier to keep snug against the beads. It especially well suited for stringing beads with uneven holes, or when beads need to be kept apart as multiple crown knots can be made between beads. Multiple crown knot form a sennit with a similar appearance as the 8 strand braid in kumihimo, but it is made with only half as many cords for a braid/cord of similar diameter.

This knot is used extensively in Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese knotting. The four fold aspect of this knot is in perfect harmony with Buddhist principles. It is completely completely symmetrical. It is often used in malas. In addition, tying crown knots can become a form of prayer, a meditation.

In the afternoon we will make the bracelet ending, integrating the loop in a seamless fashion with no cord ends remaining. This type of ending can be applied to other techniques such as micro macrame and kumihimo.

Joining Hands after a Crown Knotting Class

The class manual has a lot of info that goes beyond the class project and can be a guide for further projects you may want to do after the class.

Come and join us at BABE, a few spaces are still remaining and online class registration ends this Saturday, October 27!

Sign up for Classes at http://www.beadextravaganza.com/register.htm

This is my 4th time teaching this class at BABE. I will have two teachers assistants this year, so we will have a fabulous class with lots of individual attention. The BABE show takes place on Saturday and Sunday. I will be there with supplies and kits. There will be demos - I will do 2 demos, one on Saturday on the new Bead Cluster Kumihimo Kit and one on Sunday on the Shambhala Bracelet, an adaptation on a classic Chinese design - see earlier blog. BABE has great classes and a great show with lots of fabulous vendors!

Update November, 2016

This class is now available as a kit. I spent time creating a new manual that cover everything that was taught in the class plus more with lots of pictures, and illustrations. The manual has over 40 pictures and diagrams. –> Crown Knotting & Fiber Endings Bracelet Kit

Crown Knotting, an Alternate Method for Knotting between Beads

Crown knotting or the crown knot sennit is an elegant solution for stringing larger hole beads and keeping them from touching each other. The crown knots have many advantages over traditional bead stringing techniques. The knots are completely symmetrical. They are easier to keep snug against the beads and are well suited for stringing beads with large holes or uneven holes as the ratio between the cord going through the beads and the actual size of the knot is much larger than with overhand knots or other techniques






This workshop premiered at BABE in November 2009 in Oakland, CA. For those not familiar with BABE, it is a bead show in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Bay Area Bead Extravaganza, offering workshops and classes. It will teach how to tie a 4-strand crown knots with the use of a kumihimo disk, a method that makes this process much easier to learn and master. The class project will integrate the clasp with a button and loop seamlessly with no loose thread or thread ends remaining.

I really enjoy coming up with new methods making knotting techniques easier to teach and to learn. It must be the teacher and technician in me. Sometimes everything clicks just the right way. In this instance the addition of a tool makes the task easier. So it will be a pleasure to share this new way to tie this ancient knot and of course the many subtleties creating a closure out of the beginning and endings.

More > www.beadextravaganza.com or > Crown Knot Workshop

September 2011: It's this time of the year again. This will be my third time around teaching Crown Knotting at BABE. This time I will have two assistants - what a luxury! Plan on coming for the workshop on Friday, going to the show Saturday or Sunday or taking more workshops offered by many other talented artists from all over the country. Hope to see you there! ~ Marion

Update November, 2016

This class is now available as a kit. I spent time creating a new manual that cover everything that was taught in the class plus more with lots of pictures, and illustrations. The manual has over 40 pictures and diagrams. –> Crown Knotting & Fiber Endings Bracelet Kit

Tamara Hill in Ornament Magazine

Congratulation to Tamara Hill, for being featured in the current Ornament Magazine. I met Tamara, a designer through my online store. She was looking for thread. When I saw her website, I looked forward to meeting her due to her connection to beads and Buddhism. We have since connected via emails, phone, and in person at shows, Bead Society meetings... Her work features lots of bold one of a kind beads and many crown knots done with various thread and cord, some from my store.




Check her work in the latest Ornament Magazine or on her website.

Tamara Hill Website: http://tamarahillstudio.com/

Ornament Magazine: http://www.ornamentmagazine.com/current.html

Photos of necklaces are by George Post