Chinese button knot

Chinese button knot
Doubled Chinese button knot, flat and tightened in the same picture
Category	Decorative
Category #2	Stopper
Related	diamond knot, Celtic button knot
Typical use	clothing button
ABoK	#599

Chinese button knot is essentially a diamond knot where the lanyard loop is shortened to a minimum, i.e. tightened to the knot itself. There emerges therefore only two lines next to each other from the knot: the beginning and the end. The knot has traditionally been used as a button on clothes in Asia, thus the name.

The diamond knot is usually tied with a carrick bend as a first step. This results then in a knife lanyard knot which can be used as a button hole, as well as a button.

Tying starts with a diagonal carrick bend

Ends continue around and under the standing part on the other side

Ends up through the middle hole

Tightened

There is however a tying method that does not require a carrick bend as a first step, and does not produce a lanyard loop that needs to be reduced when used as a button. This method provides just the button, a spherical basket weave knot, in the style of Turk's head knot or diamond knot.

Instructions for tying Chinese button knot in single configuration using this method as illustrated in the adjacent image, with four steps in tying it; thin red lines showing the move(s) to get to the next step: