Danish Knot

When I first saw this knot in the early '90's, I wanted to buy it from the man wearing it. Naturally he wouldn't part with it, but he did take it off and leave it with me for the rest of the day, so I could make sketches of it. It had been his Father's in Denmark, so when I worked out how to make one I called it a 'Danish Knot'. I was told the knot, silver about 14gauge and 3/4 inch across, had been a family possession from sometime in the 18th century, so girls and boys, an old style and no copyright.

If you would like to make it, a 16 gauge wire coiled on a 3/8 inch mandrel is quite workable. The one in the photos below is 16 gauge wire coiled on a 5/16 inch mandrel and is a little tight adding the third piece.


This tutorial is courtesy of Valma Spencer-Sun.

		1) Start by making 3 coils. Each coil should be 4 winds around the mandrel, with the cut ends overlapping just a little bit. File the cut ends and make sure the ends are parallel with the rest of the wire in the coil.
		2) Take one coil and interlock it with a second coil by sliding the first coil around and around the second coil - like putting a key on a keyring.
		3) Hold the first 2 coils as shown in the picture, so that they are making contact at the top and the second coil is slanted back as far as possible against the first coil. Open up the third coil and start threading it over both the first and second coils. Keep sliding it around until it is completely interlocked with the first two coils.
		4) Turn each coil so that you can see the cut ends. Squish the wires of each coil together by these cut ends, so the wires of each coil are touching here. Turn the cut ends of each coil to the inside of the knot. Now, working on the side opposite the cut ends for each coil, use a knife blade to fan the wires of each coil apart as far as possible. Once the wires have been fanned out on each of the three coils, the knot should become a stable "bead" that can be used as an element in your jewelry making, pretty much as you would use any other bead.
		5) Sample charms created with the Danish Knot. These knots were made from 18 gauge wire coiled on a 1/4 inch mandrel.
B&S Gauge Wire Mandrel Diameter in Inches (observed) Mandrel Diameter in MM's US Size Knitting Needle 16 3/8" 10 mm 15 18 5/16" 8 mm 11 20 1/4" 6.5 mm 10.5 22 7/32" 5.5 mm 9 24 5/32" 4 mm 6 26 1/8" 3 mm 3 28 3/32" 2.5 mm 1 30 1/16" 2 mm 00		6) Suggested Mandrel Sizes NOTE: Needle sizes will vary by manufacturer!