Button Knot Buddha

Red Chinese Knotting Cord Bracelet with TierraCast Buddha Charm

Skill LevelBeginner

TechniqueKnots & Macrame

Time1-3 Hours

The Buddha charm at the center of this bracelet is the perfect accent to the Chinese Button Knots.

TierraCast's Eastern Path collection is inspired by traditional symbols and motifs in Asian culture. The Buddha charm from the collection is used to complement the button knot design, a traditional Chinese knotting technique. See more of the Eastern Path collection and discover even more jewelry inspiration in this Artbeads Cafe episode.

Step-by-Step Instructions Expand All Steps

Lay about 24 inches of Lovely Knots 2mm red Chinese knotting cord vertically on your work surface. You may want to work on a macrame board and use pins to keep your loops in place and marked. Make an overhand knot on one end of the cord, leaving a tail long enough to make a sliding closure later. Insert this end into a slot at the bottom of the board. You will be working up from this end.

Make loop 1 in your cord by bringing the working cord end to the left, crossing over the right end (the knotted end in the slot). This is the loop around the yellow pin in our picture below.

With your working end, cross over the first half of loop 1 and then under the second half of loop 1 to make loop 2. This is the loop around the green pin our picture.

Loop around to the left, under the first half of loop 1 to start loop 3 (the loop around the blue pin in our picture). Then, go into the triangle space, crossing over the first half of loop 2. Come out of the triangle and under the second half of loop 1. Cross over the second half of loop 2.

Form loop 4 (the loop around the pink pin in our picture), crossing over the knotted cord end by coming under the first half of loop 3 and over the first half of loop 1. Then, go under the second half of loop 3 and under the second half of loop 1. Your knot should now look like our image.

Tighten the knot just so that it still lays flat, with some spaces between the loops. You may have to adjust the cords with your fingers as you tighten to position the knot near the first knot you created.

Make an overhand knot in your cord just after the button knot. Add a TierraCast antique gold 7mm beaded spacer and slide it up to the knot. Make another overhand knot after the bead.

Repeat steps 1-7 to make the next button knot and spacer segment. Keep the previous button knot and spacer segment to the bottom of your work. Repeat again, but instead of adding a spacer, add a TierraCast gold-plated pewter hammered bail spacer.

Repeat steps 1-7 three times to make the other half of the bracelet, leaving off the last spacer segment.

Make an overhand knot at the end of your bracelet. Make a sliding macrame closure with the ends to complete the design. Knot the ends of your cord and trim.

Sliding Macrame Closure Tutorial

Attach the TierraCast antique gold-plated pewter Buddha charm to the bail at the center of the bracelet using a TierraCast gold-plated brass small oval open jump ring.

Opening and Closing Jump Rings Video

List of Components
TierraCast Antique Gold-Plated Pewter Buddha Charm (GA2528, qty 1)
TierraCast Gold-Plated Pewter Hammered Bail Spacer (G-5816, qty 1)
TierraCast Antique Gold 7mm Beaded Spacer (GA-5547, qty 4)
TierraCast Gold-Plated Brass Small Oval Open Jump Ring (G-0016, qty 1)
Lovely Knots 2mm Red Chinese Knotting Cord - 20 yards (STRNG-0124, qty 1)

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Add all available items to your cart at once or edit the quantities below. Any items with quantities lower than stated minimums will default to the minimum in your cart.

Nice choice! All or most of the products needed for this project are shown below with quantities. Sometimes we sell out of components and aren’t able to order more from the manufacturer (we know, it is very disappointing to us, too). Use the opportunity to mix up the design and make it yours by substituting similar products or altering the entire color scheme—it’s up to you!

Dazzle It Lovely Knots 2mm Red Chinese Knotting Cord - 20 yards

Code STRNG-0124

$5.59

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TierraCast Antique Gold-Plated Pewter Buddha Charm

Code GA2528

$2.69

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Ergonomic Chain Nose Pliers

Code TOOL-125

$8.39

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