A Celtic Cross

It's been a long while since I tried tying one of these Celtic Crosses.  I used some scrap lengths of olive drab 550 paracord and black 425 paracord, with a loop of 0.9mm cord as a hanger.

The last time I recall attempting one was after seeing knot tying friend, Ken, post an example on his blog back in 2009.

For that first time, instead of paracord, I'd used some cheap flimsy craft cord that felt like yarn and the knot kept twisting and collapsing when I was tightening up the slack, so I grew aggravated with it and put it on the 'to do later' list, which ended up being much later, lol.

The finished Celtic cross knot is flat, like a mat type knot, so it doesn't lend itself well to use as a lanyard or fob for a knife/flashlight/zipper pull, especially with larger diameter cord, but it does make a nice Christmas tree ornament, or hung from a cabinet pull, vehicle rear view mirror, or similar method of display.  Done in smaller cord, it works well as a necklace pendant.

I'd tied my example from looking at a finished one, where it's not too difficult to see the pattern with two different contrasting cord colors, laying out one, then interweaving the other, then doubling and gradually working the slack out, taking care to keep the desired shape and not over tighten.

A quick search brought up a few online tutorials for the Celtic Cross, one here, another here, and then another.  I'm not sure what book the Celtic cross may have originally been found in...

Merry Christmas!

And I'd found an unfinished project, where I'd tied a long four bight Turk's head knot, doubled, with 3/32" tether cord over a straw, then tossed it in a storage tote a long time ago when I hadn't decided at the time how I'd finish it.  I just took a length of paracord, made a loop and lanyard knot to wrist size, then pulled that through the TH knot, and ran a little bit of needle/thread through each end to keep it in place over the paracord.

Got yer goat?

A recent care package from Schmuckatelli Co. included USN Tactical Goat Beads in a variety of finishes, along with a couple of cool t-shirts and several of my favorite Kiko Tiki lanyard beads.

I'd been waiting on a project to use some of the 1100 HD Paracord (Made in the USA) that I'd bought last winter.  The UST labeled cord is a stronger thicker paracord, than the common 550 paracord, where I could just fit the lanyard beads onto a single ungutted strand.


I kept the knot work fairly simple, for those that might want to try and duplicate the lanyard, with doubled two-strand wall knots, a couple of gaucho knot interweaves for whipping, and tying eleven 7 lead 2 bight tripled Turk's head knots with 1.4mm red cord, spaced between the tactical goat beads along the length of the lanyard. 

The stretched out length of the lanyard with the loop ends is about 28" long, plenty of length for an edc (everyday carry) wallet or keychain lanyard.  The weight of the finished lanyard by itself is 4.8 oz, with a nice hefty feel to it.

I added a ITW Nexus Grimloc carabiner for attachment at one end, and the other loop end can be ring/cow/girth hitched onto another attachment/keyring or run a belt through it and so on.

I've used the smaller diameter mini blind string/trot line cord for years, and it's always had a problem with holding its dye, so it has a faded/washed out look to it after tying.  I sometimes use Sharpie markers to color over the cord and make the colors 'pop' a little better when I don't want a stonewashed look to a finished knotting project.