Knots for Gemstone Pendants

by AndreaP at Lima on 04/03/25

Additional Images:

Project details:

Hang gemstone donuts from one of these beautiful knots. These styles of knots are easy to learn and work great for other projects as well.

↓ Step-by-step

↓ Buy the supplies

Supplies you’ll need:

1mm Beadalon recycled cord or 1.5mm leather cord for the cat's paw knot
2mm leather cord for the barrel knot
1.5mm leather cord for the cat claw knot
1mm Linhasita cord for the cord wrapped donut
2ft paperclip chain for the lark's knot
glue on cord ends or crimps to finish
lobster clasp

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Step 1

Barrel Knot: I used a 2ft piece of cord. Image 1: Fold the cord n half. Image 2: Feed the cord tails through the loop. Image 3: Pull the cord tails tight. Image 4: Lay the left cord on your left index finger. Take the right cord over the left cord and finger. Image 5: Wrap the right cord around your finger towards the donut 3-4 times. Image 6: Slide the loops off your finger. Image 7: Slide the cord you used to wrap around your finger through the loops. Image 8: Pull the tail ends. Image 9: Pull tight so the barrel forms.

Step 2

Cat's Paw Knot: I used 2ft of Beadalon recycled cord. Image 1: Fold the cord in half. Image 2: Feed the cord tails through the loop. Image 3: Hold the donut in the left hand and put your middle and index finger in the loop while also holding the cord tails. Image 4 & 5: Start somersault the donut forwards 4 times. Image 6: You should see the cords start to twist. Image 7: Pull the cord tails tight to form the knot.

Step 3

Lark's Head Knot with Chain: I used 2ft of chain. Image 1: Fold the chain in half, side the loop through the donut hole. Image 2: Slide the chain tails through the loop. Image 3: Pull the tails tight. Cut the chain to your desired length. Use jump rings to attach a clasp.

Step 4

Cat's Claw Knot: I used two 2ft pieces of cord. Image 1: Fold both cords in half. Image 2: Slide the cord tails through the loop. Image 3: Pull the tails upward. Make sure the cord is laying flat and not twisted. Image 4: Take both cord tails on the right and feed them through the right side of the main loop. Image 5: Leave a small loop at the top. Image 6: Take both left cord tails and feed them through the left side of the main loop. Leave a small loop at the top. Image 7: Make sure all cords are laying flat and not twisted. Image 8: Take both cord tails on the right and bring them through the top left loop. Image 9: Take both cord tails on the left and bring them through the top right loop. Image 10: Pull the cord upward to tighten slightly. Image 11: The finished knot should loop like this.

Step 5

Loop Drop Knot: I used 2ft of Beadalon recycled cord. Image 1: Slide the cord through the donut. Image 2: Cross the cord right over left. Image 3: Twist the right cord around the left 6 times then the left cord around the right cord 6 times. Image 4: Pull the tails to tighten the knot.

Step 6

Binded Barrel knot: I used 2ft of cord. Image 1: Take the cord tails and slide them through the donut hole in opposite directions. Image 2: Wrap the cord in opposite directions 5 times. Image 3: Split the cord so you can bring the cord up the center. This way your knot will be centered. Image 4: Bring both tails up to the top. Image 5: Lay the left cord on your finger and wrap the right cord over the left and around your finger 3 times. Image 6: Loosen the loops on your finger and slide the tail of the cord used for wrapping through the loops. Image 7: Pull tight to create the knot, you will need to push the knot down with your fingers. You can pull both cords in opposite direction to tighten the knot as well.