|
I'm going to start actually using this blog and I will begin by sharing some really helpful resources for anyone looking to get into Paracord knotting, weaving, and braiding. I'm going to tailor this most more towards beginners. I will be making a separate post discussing some of the more advanced resources in more detail.  Web Resources
Swiss Paracord Tutorials: This website is in German, but once you know the basics, you don't really need the text and the pictures will do. Swiss Paracord hosts a vast amount of tutorials for weaves (especially weaves suitable for dog collars and for use in some horse tack) as well as a few tutuorials for braids (such as for dog leads, although especially for braids you might find video tutorials easier to follow). Swiss Paracord also have this amazing searchable spreadsheet that can help you figure out how much cord you need. Paracord Guild: This website (and YouTube Channel) is run by experienced Paracord crafter Marko Gorc and hosts countless neat tutorials (videos and well as picture tutorials and great explanations. Very much a recommended resource. Fusion Knots/Tying It All Together: J.D. Lenzen is another beginner-friendly YouTube tutorial creator and book author - and he has plenty to offer for intermediate and more advanced Paracord crafters, too! I'll mention my favourite book of his in the next section. More YouTube Channels: Weavers of Eternity and WhyKnot are two more nice beginner-friendly Paracord channels. If you're interested in macrame techniques (some of which work very nicely with Paracord!) I would recommend Macrame School and Macrame Tita. There are probably some good kumihimo braiding channels, too, but I have not really investigated those yet, so I shall update this post once I've found some good video tutorials for kumihimo. And there are definitely more advanced knot/braid channels around as well, which I shall link to in a separate post. Books There are lots of good, but also lot of not-really-worth-it books around on Paracord and related techniques (traditional knot and braid work, kumihimo, macrame, Chinese knotting). I must admit I do not own many books specifically on Paracord. I briefly owned Todd Mikkelsen's "Paracords!" but thought it was so basic I ultimately binned it. JD Lenzen's books are significantly better. I particularly like "Decorative Fusion Knots" which is not specifically about Paracord but has some neat instructions for beautiful knots. I only own "Paracord Fusion Ties - Volume 2" but it's decent and I assume that Volume 1 is good if you're only just starting out. Again, moving further away from Paracord - there are lots of decent kumihimo books around. Beth Kemp's "Twist, Turn & Tie: 50 Japanese Braids" and "How To Make 50 Fabulous Flat Kumihimo Braids" are a nice starting point for doing Kumihimo on a foam disk. Jacqui Carey's "Japanese Braiding - The Art of Kumihimo" and Rodrick Owen's "The Big Book of Sling and Rope Braids" are fabulous for more advanced braiders who (like me) work on a marudai. There are lots of nice macrame books around. I found the "Macrame Pattern Book" very helpful. Dorothy Wood's "The Knotting and Braiding Bible" is a nice book if you're looking for a starting point for lots of types of knotting and braiding but don't want to invest in a whole library from the start. Clifford Ashley's "The Ashley Book of Knots" and Graumont and Hensel's "Encyclopedia of Knots and Fancy Rope Work" are absolute classics if you want to get into it all really deeply - amazing for learning about the history of various knots, but be aware that the instructions are not particularly easy to follow for beginners. Noemi Speiser's "The Manual of Braiding" is another amazing resource for those who want to learn more about the history of braiding as well as those who want to gain a solid understanding of many different braid structures. Bruce Grant's "Encyclopedia of Rawhide & Leather Braiding" and "How to make Cowboy Horse Gear" are absolute classics for those whose primary interest is in learning to make horse tack. Although they focus on leather and rawhide, many of the techniques can be transferred on to Paracord. Hope this helps! I shall be using this mostly for publishing my own tutorials, link you to other great Paracord resources, and tell you all about this wonderful craft.
|
RSS Feed