Copying Celtic Knots

If you see a knot you like in a museum, it is fun to copy it. But it is difficult to reproduce the knot accurately and quickly. However, it is possibly to do a quick sketch of the knot and then reproduce it later.

	For the quick sketch, draw a single line representing the strings, allowing it to cross other lines without indicating which is on top. Mark one junction to show which goes over which. You will also need to note anything out of the ordinary, such as thin or thick strands, or whether the turnings are rounded or end in points, and how big the gaps are.
	When you have more time, you can reconstruct the knot. Make a neat copy, but this time, work out where the unders and overs go. You have noted one. The rest follow on alternately.
	Look at your notes describing the knot. Is it a single strand, coloured, and outlined? This means you can draw the neat copy using the felt-tip pen method.
	Is it double stranded? This means you can use the double strand method.
	Is it regular and close-weaved, without gaps? Perhaps you can use the dots method.
	Or you can always put it onto the computer!

In the quick sketch, by noting just the lines, without bothering about the doubling or the under and over, you can concentrate on the look of the knot and the flow of the lines. It is also a lot quicker to do - an advantage if you're standing in a museum scribbling in a notebook. But do remember to write some comments so you can reproduce the knot exactly. Check all the overs and unders are regular - sometimes the original artist made a mistake!

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