Forum - Bracelet tying - Straightedges? 🙊

Tikilishi

Moderator

4 years, 6 months ago by Tikilishi

Can anyone familiar with the straightedge technique perhaps help answer a question I have? 🙊

I know that when adding an extra string to a pattern to make a straight edge - you add an extra string of bf knots on the left column and an extra string of fb knots on the right column. This ensures that you aren't altering the color scheme of a pattern at all.

But what about a pattern such as this? #37396

The left and right columns have fb knots on the left, and bf knots on the right instead.

Will the bracelet still come out straight and not curve off to one side? Will the edges still look neat and clean?

This is very important for me to know, because I like to upload patterns that already will give someone a straight edge - I was under the impression that as long as it's consistently fb on one side, and consistently bf on the other, it will create a straight edge, but now I'm not sure 🙈

Does anyone know?

halokiwi

Moderator

4 years, 6 months ago by halokiwi

The straight edges technique is more about the appearance of the edges of your bracelet. They will look straighter if you do bf knots on the left and fb knots on the right. Fb knots on the left and bf knots on the right will lead to a different appearance.

Straight edges don't affect the overall straightness of a bracelet. It can still warp into one direction or the other. To make a pattern more straight in general you have to balance the amount of f and b knots. The chevron #2 is the perfect pattern in that sense. On the left side between two strings of the same colour do f knots and on the right side do b knots. This will make the overall bracelet straighter, not just the edges.

Tikilishi

Moderator

4 years, 6 months ago by Tikilishi

@halokiwi that makes perfect sense 😄

I try to balance out my patterns so that there's an equal amount of f and b knots, but I did that more for the aesthetic of the pattern route lol. I didn't realize there was another reason for it 😊

I saw this video on YouTube https://youtu.be/YkN7VX0gVfQ
By Masha Knots, about helping a bracelet to stay straight and not curve.

I've yet to tie an actual bracelet yet so I wasn't sure how the edge itself would look or if fb vs bf mattered on either side. Does it look worse if fb is on the left and bf is on the right? If it does look worse, I'll try and remember that and only upload patterns that have bf on left and fb on right lol.

halokiwi

Moderator

4 years, 6 months ago by halokiwi

I rewatched the video and maybe it helps a little bit but I think there are other things that help more when trying to keep a bracelet straight. That's just my personal opinion though. I should not have put it as a fact.

Another way to keep your bracelet straight is making sure that you don't pull the bracelet to the side while knotting it. Pulling the bracelet to the side while knotting mainly a beginner mistake I think. But it might also be the reason why the first bracelet in the video is wonky.

Truth is you can create straight bracelets without the straight edges technique and you can also create wonky bracelets with the straight edges technique. I think the overall knotting structure has a bigger influence than the straight edges technique.

Now to your question about how it will look if you do fb knots on the left and and bf on the right. I think it would look nice too. There just wouldn't be straight edges in that sense and if the straight edges technique does have a stabilising effect I can imagine that it would be lessened through this. In general fb and bf knots can even make a bracelet wonkier because many people struggle with them more than with f or b knots.

Tikilishi

Moderator

4 years, 6 months ago by Tikilishi

All of what you said makes sense 😁

I don't yet have much experience physically knotting bracelets so I really wasn't sure about any of this.

I definitely think you're right that knot structure is what determines the straightness, as well as what you said about pulling knots to the side affecting the shape.

I've yet to start knotting often, but I've heard a lot of people don't like fb bf patterns because one must use the row-by-row method instead of segment knotting, and it takes a lot longer.

They certainly have their pros and cons that's for sure! From a bracelet making standpoint, I guess I would prefer knotting patterns with lots of f and b knots so that I can segment knot super fast, but from a pattern-making standpoint, fb bf patterns are so much easier to generate in my opinion, and quite a lot of patterns wouldn't exist without it. 😝

This is all very fascinating! So thank you for helping me 😊 @halokiwi

Tikilishi Moderator	4 years, 6 months ago by Tikilishi Can anyone familiar with the straightedge technique perhaps help answer a question I have? 🙊 I know that when adding an extra string to a pattern to make a straight edge - you add an extra string of bf knots on the left column and an extra string of fb knots on the right column. This ensures that you aren't altering the color scheme of a pattern at all. But what about a pattern such as this? #37396 The left and right columns have fb knots on the left, and bf knots on the right instead. Will the bracelet still come out straight and not curve off to one side? Will the edges still look neat and clean? This is very important for me to know, because I like to upload patterns that already will give someone a straight edge - I was under the impression that as long as it's consistently fb on one side, and consistently bf on the other, it will create a straight edge, but now I'm not sure 🙈 Does anyone know?
halokiwi Moderator	4 years, 6 months ago by halokiwi The straight edges technique is more about the appearance of the edges of your bracelet. They will look straighter if you do bf knots on the left and fb knots on the right. Fb knots on the left and bf knots on the right will lead to a different appearance. Straight edges don't affect the overall straightness of a bracelet. It can still warp into one direction or the other. To make a pattern more straight in general you have to balance the amount of f and b knots. The chevron #2 is the perfect pattern in that sense. On the left side between two strings of the same colour do f knots and on the right side do b knots. This will make the overall bracelet straighter, not just the edges.
Tikilishi Moderator	4 years, 6 months ago by Tikilishi @halokiwi that makes perfect sense 😄 I try to balance out my patterns so that there's an equal amount of f and b knots, but I did that more for the aesthetic of the pattern route lol. I didn't realize there was another reason for it 😊 I saw this video on YouTube https://youtu.be/YkN7VX0gVfQ By Masha Knots, about helping a bracelet to stay straight and not curve. I've yet to tie an actual bracelet yet so I wasn't sure how the edge itself would look or if fb vs bf mattered on either side. Does it look worse if fb is on the left and bf is on the right? If it does look worse, I'll try and remember that and only upload patterns that have bf on left and fb on right lol.
halokiwi Moderator	4 years, 6 months ago by halokiwi I rewatched the video and maybe it helps a little bit but I think there are other things that help more when trying to keep a bracelet straight. That's just my personal opinion though. I should not have put it as a fact. Another way to keep your bracelet straight is making sure that you don't pull the bracelet to the side while knotting it. Pulling the bracelet to the side while knotting mainly a beginner mistake I think. But it might also be the reason why the first bracelet in the video is wonky. Truth is you can create straight bracelets without the straight edges technique and you can also create wonky bracelets with the straight edges technique. I think the overall knotting structure has a bigger influence than the straight edges technique. Now to your question about how it will look if you do fb knots on the left and and bf on the right. I think it would look nice too. There just wouldn't be straight edges in that sense and if the straight edges technique does have a stabilising effect I can imagine that it would be lessened through this. In general fb and bf knots can even make a bracelet wonkier because many people struggle with them more than with f or b knots.
Tikilishi Moderator	4 years, 6 months ago by Tikilishi All of what you said makes sense 😁 I don't yet have much experience physically knotting bracelets so I really wasn't sure about any of this. I definitely think you're right that knot structure is what determines the straightness, as well as what you said about pulling knots to the side affecting the shape. I've yet to start knotting often, but I've heard a lot of people don't like fb bf patterns because one must use the row-by-row method instead of segment knotting, and it takes a lot longer. They certainly have their pros and cons that's for sure! From a bracelet making standpoint, I guess I would prefer knotting patterns with lots of f and b knots so that I can segment knot super fast, but from a pattern-making standpoint, fb bf patterns are so much easier to generate in my opinion, and quite a lot of patterns wouldn't exist without it. 😝 This is all very fascinating! So thank you for helping me 😊 @halokiwi

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Straightedges? 🙊