Lanyard Knot Tutorial
a.k.a. Friendship or Diamond Knot
On this page I'll show you a how to tie a lanyard knot the easy way.
Also called a "friendship" or "diamond" or "knife lanyard" knot, this decorative knot is used in the paracord lanyard and paracord bracelet projects. It's similar to the knot used by the Scouts on their "wood badge woggle".
Here's a neat method of teaching this knot that involves poking the rope through holes in a piece of paper. It's a bit unconventional, but it works really well and I think it makes learning the knot a lot easier.
Why use paper? Well, the paper...
- Holds things in place, so that you have both hands free to tie the knot.
- Hides the unused bits of cord so that they don't get tangled up in the bit that you're tying.
Of course, once you've tied the knot a couple of times, you'll be able to tie it without the paper.
Well, enough introduction. Grab yourself a sheet of paper and a length of rope, and settle down for 3 minutes to learn this knot.
How did you go? Did the video make sense? Let me know your opinion using this handy form .
Sometimes when you make the knot you'll want to change the size of the loop that comes out of it. The way to do that is to pull the cord bit by bit through the knot to shrink the loop. It's sort of like when you tighten your shoelace and you start by pulling on the laces near your toes, then pull a bit further up, and a bit further up, each time moving the loops of loose shoelace higher up the shoe until you can pull them through at the top.
Where to buy paracord?
Chances are that if you're into knot-skills you've heard of paracord. It's a super-strong but light-weight cord originally used in military parachutes. In fact, the only reason I learned how to tie the lanyard knot was so that I could make neat stuff (lanyards, bracelets) out of paracord. Anyway, if you're after paracord, then you'll find it at army surplus stores, camping and outdoor stores, or ebay.
Variation: Double Lanyard Knot
Using two ropes next to each other as if they were one rope you can create a neat-looking double lanyard knot. Here's a photo sent in by reader Jodi:
Double Diamond Knot
Jodi writes...
Thanks for sharing your photo Jodi!
Things you can make with the lanyard knot
Now that you've watched my lanyard knot tutorial, probably you want to do something useful with it, like braiding lanyards. So, if you're interested, mosy along and have a look at these projects:
