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