• Source: Chinese button knot

The Chinese button knot is essentially a knife lanyard knot where the lanyard loop is shortened to a minimum, i.e. tightened to the knot itself. There emerges therefore only two lines next to each other from the knot: the beginning and the end. The knot has traditionally been used as a button on clothes in Asia, thus the name.

The Chinese Button Knot is worn throughout China on underwear and night clothes. Buttons of this sort are more comfortable to lie on and to rest against compared to common bone and composition buttons, and they cannot be broken even by the laundry.
A Chinese tailor ties the knot without guide, flat on his table. But one may be more quickly and easily tied in hand by a modification of the sailor’s method of tying his knife lanyard knot (#787). The two knots are tied alike, but they are worked differently.




Tying


The basic chinese button knot (ABOK #599 on one string) is usually tied with a carrick bend that attaches the two ends as a first step. This results then in a knife lanyard knot (ABOK #787) where the loop part can be sized and used as a button hole, while the knot part can be used as a button.


















Below is the ABOK description, and several video demonstration references:

There is however a tying method that does not require a carrick bend, rather a slip knot as a first step, and does not produce a lanyard loop that needs to be reduced when used as a button. This method provides just the button, a spherical basket weave knot, in the style of Turk's head knot.






























A third way to tie this knot starts with two loops almost like tying the celtic button knot, except for the curvature change at the center which results in the way the ends exit the knot; at opposite sides for celtic, at the same side here.


























The resulting knot in both tying methods (slip-knot method and two-loops or WhyKnot method) is ABOK #600 which is similar to knife lanyard knot but the loop part is reduced to the top center bulge on its surface.

"The top center part of the present knot has retreated from the surface. This should now be forcibly pricked to the surface and the surrounding parts tightened to hold it in place. This is the final form of the common chinese button knot. By counting it will be found that the knot has 9 surface parts."

Which triangular hole at the S formed/back bent top center each end is tucked through in both tying methods makes a difference:

tucking through the one at near side of the center as indicated by red lines in this image gives ABOK #600 the 8 part knot, of which the common chinese button knot is a version with a 9th surface part,
tucking through the one at opposite side as indicated by red lines in this image gives ABOK #787 the knife lanyard knot but with a retreated loop.





















See also


Tangzhuang, a jacket which often incorporates knotted buttons




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Sebastian Vettel
• Chinese button knot
• Diamond knot
• Frog (fastening)
• Button knot
• Chinese knotting
• Celtic button knot
• Stopper knot
• Knot
• List of knots
• Decorative knot