Nautical Interest >> Projects

Turks Head Coasters

So you’ve had a good summer having taken a voyage aboard Fair Jeanne or participated in one of the Black Jack Island Adventure Camps and are now an “old salt”. Here’s a little project you can undertake to add a small piece of nautical flair to your coffee table or desk.

This is what the finished result looks like (well ok, your’s won’t have the coffee and hot chocolate stains to start with, but you get the idea). It is a five-lead by three-bight turks head tied flat rather than around a spar. Click on the thumbnail for an actual-size image. Actual-size at 800x600 resolution on a 17” monitor, that is.

What you need

You will need the usual stuff you need when you are doing ropework: knife, &/or scissors, Stan Rogers CD, patience ... Here is a list of items that you will need to complete this project:

• I used white parachute cord for my turks head coaster, but any small stuff will do. You will need about two fathoms or 4 metres depending on the diameter of it.
• You’ll need a needle and thread to secure the loose ends on the bottom so your turks head doesn't come apart.
• A pinboard that fits in your lap, or a sheet of stiff cardboard.
• You may want some thumbtacks or pins to hold your cord in place. (For method number two anyway. I did when I tried it for the first time.)

How to tie the flat turks head

Method One: Ashley’s Knot # 1306

This method of tying on your hand requires quite a bit of working to get the shape right.

Lay out your cord as in the drawing. Once you finish tying the knot, ending up where you started, follow the first lead around a few times, being careful not to snug things up too much at first.

Be careful not to cross the leads because the knot won’t lie flat and will look lumpy instead.

Once you've tied two or three of these using this method you'll get the knack of how much slack to leave where. (That's why I like method number two: it starts out about the right size every time.)

Finishing up the knot is the same regardless of which method you use to start. See “Finishing Up” below.

Method Two: Ashley’s Knot # 1362

This method doesn’t require as much messing about to get the size right, and can be extended outwards, but that is beyond the scope of this article. (You’ll have to get your hands on a copy of The Ashley Book of Knots to get the whole scoop.) If you start with this drawing printed out actual-size, you can go from there and not have as much re-shaping of the knot to do. If you really like turks heads and need a really big one, check out Ashley’s instructions for knot #1362.

For this little three bight turks head coaster, start by printing out the drawing and put it on a piece of cardboard or pinboard. Next you lay your cord along the drawing starting at position #1 (using pins or thumbtacks to hold the cord in place works well in case you don't have six fingers on each hand).

Where ever the lines on the drawing cross, simply go over, unless there is a circle, then at that point the cord should pass under. Once you've made the first turn, then you just have to double, then triple the lead (I went for four, but that’s pushing it: there isn’t enough room for all the leads after a while and you’ll have to make the knot bigger for them to lie properly).

Be careful while doubling and tripling up not to cross the leads. The knot won’t lie properly flat and will look lumpy.

Finishing up the knot is the same regardless of which method you used to start.

Finishing Up

First decide which side is going to be the top, and which the bottom. It usually doesn’t really matter which is which, but with all the fussing about to even the knot out, one side generally ends up looking more presentable than the other. What you will want to do is clip the working ends off on the under side and sew them in place with a few stitches with a needle and thread.

Since I used nylon parachute cord I was able to melt the ends off with a beat up old soldering iron. (I’ve got one I keep around the just that purpose.) If you are using cotton or jute or something like that, you may want to dab a bit of clear nail polish on the ends to keep them from fraying before you sew them in place.

You can just see a piece of the seizing in the picture below. It is at about the seven o’clock position from the centre about half way out. You will want to be careful to hide the finished ends.

This is what the turks head coaster looks like when finished. It is about 4 inches, or 10 centimetres, diameter. Just the right size for under a coffee mug.

If you are running a 17” monitor at 800x600 resolution, this image should be almost actual size.

This is the back side. Note the melted ends and how they are seized to the other parts of the knot so that they do not work free.

Reference

Just for the record, these images and instructions are adaptations of those found The Ashley Book of Knots by Clifford W. Ashley. This book is available at Lee Valley Tools or Chapters/Indigo/Coles, etc.

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