Braiding a Piece of Hemp Jewelry – The Spiral Knot

Besides your basic square knot, the spiral knot is probably the one that I see the most. Although it looks difficult, the truth of the matter is that the spiral knot is just a simplified version of the square knot. While the knot itself is simple, there are a couple of things that make it a bit more complicated that the square knot. One thing I’ve realized is that pieces using the spiral knot look a lot better when made with thicker cord. Also, while I personally like the look of spiral knot pieces with two middle cords, it is possible (and easier) to do it with just one. Keep these in mind when planning your piece.

To start, you will need to cut your four (or three, if you choose) pieces of cord and tie your starting loop. It should look like this:

From here, basically everything works like the square knot. Take the left cord over the two middle cords. Then, take the right cord over the left cord, under the two middle cords, and up through the loop created by the left cord, like this:

Pull this tight. Now, instead of alternating your braid like you would with the square knot, repeat what you just did. Braid the whole piece with this “left-over-right” technique. Easy, right?

Well, there is one more thing you should keep in mind. While you should generally pull all your knots as tight as you can, if you pull them too tight while using the spiral knot, it will be more difficult. After you have made a few pieces using the spiral knot, try making your knots just a tiny bit looser. When doing this, make sure that you keep the tightness uniform, so the piece doesn’t look unbalanced. Once again, good luck! Let me know if you have any questions, or if my articles are helpful at all. I can always take some actual pictures or video if you need.