Tying Knots with Paracord

I got my start making decorative knots with Des Pawson's book Knot Craft. About four years ago, my brother showed me some a key chain fob he had made with paracord. I thought it was so neat I immediately did a ton of research on how to make one for myself. The very best resource I was able to find was this book by Des Pawson. He explains how to tie them very well. One complaint that I hear a bit about this book is that he doesn't have enough pictures. I agree somewhat with this. From time to time, I have gotten stuck on a particular part of a knot he is explaining and have been unable to get to the next step. That is why I love to go on YouTube and find someone who has actually filmed the steps so I can watch.

After a couple of great small key chain fobs, I moved on to bracelets. By using a Cobra Weave, you can make this stylish wide bracelet from about 15 feet of paracord along with a 2 foot piece in the middle as the core. For some really great looks, you can make the core a different color than the rest of the bracelet. I have even seen a few people "weld" a couple of pieces of paracord together to make a multi color bracelet. Easy to make, the paracord bracelet looks good and gives you a decent length piece of cord that you can use in case you run into an emergency.

After a while, I decided I needed another book on decorative knots. I finally chose the book, Decorative Fusion Knots. This book is fantastic. It has tons of pictures and a whole bunch of knots that can be combined in different patterns to make complex and unique pieces of ropework. Be warned--once you start making knots, you may become addicted.

There is a guy on YouTube who also has a blog. His name is Stormdrane. He shows some incredible projects that you can make with Paracord. I included a very cool video to the side that shows one of his more recent projects. If you make a few things with Paracord and decide you want to move up to some very unique projects--check out a few of his videos. Very good stuff

Monkey's Fists are fun little things to make. After you get a bit of practice, you can turn several of these out fairly fast. Looking for a great gift to give for a birthday or holiday? A Monkey's Fist is perfect to give--they can be used as zipper pulls or key chain fobs. Either way, they are fun to make and look great too!