Pan Chang Knotted Ring

by MaeBerry

17K36917

Intro: Pan Chang Knotted Ring

This is a Chinese knot called a Pan Chang knot which brings good luck to those who wear it. This is a great gift for someone as it is fairly easy, intricate, and beautiful. You could also just make one for yourself because they are very comfortable to wear. If you want to make it extra lucky, the traditional color is red, but any color looks good.

STEP 1: Materials

There are only a few materials, all of which are easy to get.

- Styrofoam block or foam board

- Sewing Pins

- 2 yards of sring for the ring (approximatly 4.5 yards for a bracelet)

-- yarn, leather, silk, hemp, or paracord would all work to tie it

- Clear nail polish or super glue

Yep, that's it!

STEP 2: Making the Underlying Shape

Take your string and find the middle by folding it in half. Pin it to the styrofoam board with two pins (this is important). Pin it again 2 inches down on either side as shown in the photo. Make sure to pin it again at the top because we will be looping back again.

STEP 3: Threading the Right Side Horizontally

Take the string on the right and pin it in a loop so that it faces the left. Notice that there are 4 stings going vertically. Go to the left through these strings as follows:

Under, Over, Under, Over

Pin it on the left and going back left to right go:

Over, Under, Over, Under

Now make a loop with two pins and repeat the steps above one more time so that the string comes out on the bottom right.

STEP 4: Threading the Left Side Horizontally

Take the left string and make another loop. We are going to be going left to right as follows through the same 4 vertical strings:

Over (over all of them)

Pin it on the right inside the upper right hand loop, now going right to left:

Under (all of them)

Go around the horizontal loop that you made previously and use two pins. Now repeat the steps above one more time ending going left.

STEP 5: Threading Vertically (Carefully)

This is an important part, so take care to do all of the Under's and Over's Take the string on the left and going around the bottom left loop go straight up (there are 8 horizontal strings):

Under, Over, Over, Over, Under, Over, Over, Over

Now pin a small loop inside the upper left hand corner. Going back down:

Under, Under, Over, Under, Under, Under, Over, Under

Go all the way around the adjacent loop using two pins and repeat the pattern above ending going down.

STEP 6: Originizing and Taking It Off the Board

Take out all of the pins that are holding small loops in place. The loops are all inside of a larger loop exept for the bottom right hand corner loop, which is a small loop and you need to take that pin. There should be 7 large loops left. Simplify the large loops by only having one pin per loop. Start to move the pins out evenly slowly stretching out the knot and lightly tightening it. You can take it off of the board now, but make sure that you keep an eye on all of the 7 loops and don't let them overlap too much though.

STEP 7: Tightening the Knot

Identify the the loop on the upper left hand corner, keep this one loose and only focus on tightening the loops surrounding it. Start with the first loop on the left and trace it to a small loop opposite of it on the right and pull on it to tighten it. Continue tracing the path of that one string all the way until you get to the open end. This way you tighten each individulal loop on the left side. Do the same on the right (the loops can be however big you want them to be), it should loop similar to the photo above.

STEP 8: Sizing It

You can make this design for both a bracelet or a ring. To size it to make a bracelet, make sure the long loop that rested on the diagonal can wrap all the way around your wrist in the same way as the photo. (always leave a little extra room just in case). If you are measuring it for a ring, make sure the loop wraps all the way around your finger. The size is very important, so make sure the loop is the perfect length. Tighten the loop in the same way we tightened the other 6 loops.

STEP 9: Making the Band

Wrap the loop around so that the middle touches the base of the ring and thread both ends of the string down thought the loop so that they stick out on both sides on the bottom. Take the left side and wrap a loop over the loop. Take the right side and go around the left string and under the loop. Tighten it up so that it touches the base. Now take the right side and go over the two strings in the middle. Take the left side and go over the string and under the two strings in the middle and back over the two strings on the right. (This is the reverse of what we did the first time)

This is also called a square knot and it is pretty common to make macreme bracelets out of them. There are more in depth instructables on how to do this part if you are still confused.

Work your way around the whole loop until you almost touch the end.

STEP 10: Tying It Off and Other Ideas

Once you get t the end, there should still be enough room for you to pry a small hole in the end of the loop. Thread both ends throght the little loop and tie a knot. Cut the ends and add a little dab of clear nail polish or super glue to finish it off. Your done! Now you can sport it as a very unique ring or bracelet. It is also incredibly comfortable to wear. This works as a perfect gift because it looks very complicated and intricate even though it doesn't take that long. It is fun to incorperate beads into this project too as in the photo above. Have fun making variation is size, color, and design!

16 Comments

AditiN 9 years ago

hi. Love your project. Am making it right now. But I am stuck at step 7. I am using yarn, and I don't really know how to tighten it to make that cute flower that you ended up with! Help!

MaeBerry 9 years ago

It looks great so far AditiN! You are definitely on the right track.

Okay, so first you want to locate the diagonal loop. This is going to be the longest loop that wraps around your finger. It is opposite the two strings that you ended with. Orientation is important when you are tightening the knot, so make sure that you keep these two aligned.

Next, you want to follow where the diagonal loop goes into the knot. Look for where it comes out, and pull on it until you get the diagonal the size of it wrapped around your finger. Don't loose sight of this new loop that you pulled out. This new loop that you pulled out will need to be re-tightened to be flush with the knot (it isn't a petal!). Now you want to continue following the string until it comes out of the knot. You realize that this loop is one of the petals! Pull on the petal until the previous loop that you made disappears and flattens out.

Now you are going to repeat this process with this petal (as you did with the diagonal). However, these new loops will be a lot smaller to give it a flower shape. Continue until you do 3 loops on one side and pull on one of the hanging strings at the end. (This is what the first photo in step 7 depicts). Repeat this on the other side with the remaining 3 petals until you get your little flower!

I hoped this helped a little, but if you have any more questions, please ask!

MaeBerry

KristalynH 5 years ago

Hi. This is the most helpful pan Chang knot tutorial. Thanks!
One question though, how do I make a huge one?

rose_adamaj 9 years ago

I can't wait to make this, your instructions & photos are very clear & I'm sure I'll have no problems. My three nieces will be excited to get something so beautiful. I am sure they will be making them soon! Thank you for such a well done ible!

MaeBerry 9 years ago

Thank you rose_adamaj! It is really fun to make variations in color and size and try different materials with this design. If you have any questions while making them, just ask!

Dizzyslover 9 years ago

This is amazing! :-) I'm going to gather everything I need to make this and my granddaughter and I will attempt to make these together! Thank you.

MaeBerry 9 years ago

Thank you Dizzyslover! I hope you have a lot of fun making them together!

kpiche 9 years ago

Love intricate look arising from a simple material. I am going to try making this as a bracelet. Am correct in guessing I finish the bracelet like the ring? Can it be slid off and on without much difficulty? Great work.

MaeBerry 9 years ago

Yes! Although make it sure that when you are making a bracelet that it is sized correctly to fit the largest part of your hand. It will act like a bangle if you make it in this way, but it shouldn't be difficult to put on or take off.

flower17 9 years ago

I love this ring and I'll be sure to make it for all my friends

SueV1 9 years ago

I love the ring you made for me Maeberry! You are so talented!

BarbaraM3 9 years ago

This is amazing...you have such talent. Keep up the good work.

thebear1 9 years ago

thank you for sharing beautiful well done project looks easy to follow you

instructable will try this for a freind