Knotted Cord Rosary
Quite possibly the toughest and longest lasting rosary, the knotted cord rosary is a simple and inexpensive way to make rosaries. Especially good for childrens' and missions' rosaries, all one needs is cord and a simple knotting tool (your finger will do just fine in a pinch).
Following are complete directions on making knotted rosaries. (Special thanks to Mike Kudla for providing this information and samples.)
Directions
IMPORTANT: The cord should not be cut, as it will fray. Use a match or cigarette lighter to carefully burn the cord instead of cutting it.
- Select the nylon twine you wish to use. #36 and #48 are popular sizes. For one rosary, cut it to lengths as follows. (These measurements will vary according to the tightness of the knot -- the stretch of the cord -- and are for undyed cord. Allow 15% for shrinkage if you choose to dye the cord before making the rosary. The cost is about 15¢ to 20¢ for one rosary made with #36 cord and dyed. This makes for a wonderful gift or apostolic work for the missions.)
- #36 twine - 6 yards
- #48 twine - 7 yards
- #60 twine - 9 yards
- #72 twine - 10 yards
- #96 twine - 12 yards
- The Rosary "Body". Begin about 6 inches from the end of cord. With cord held in left hand wrap cord clockwise 3 times over cord and first finger. Pull entire length of the cord through - tighten. This is the first Hail Mary.
- Repeat the previous step, placing the second knot close or against the first knot - tighten. Then maneuver the second knot for spacing.
- Repeat for the next 8 Hail Mary's. This completes the 1st decade.
- The Our Father. Wrap cord 4 times (4 loops instead of 3) to make a larger knot. REMEMBER to space before and after the Our Father.
- Repeat the above steps for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th decades.
- After the 5 decades are completed, it is time for the joining. Taking both the 1st Hail Mary and the last Hail Mary in your left hand, wrap both cords around finger twice, pull both ends through, lighten - pulling short cord first.
- With the long cord knot 1 Our Father - space - 3 Hail Mary's - space - 1 Our Father.
- The Cross. A short distance from the last completed Our Father make another Our Father, then leaving a small space, make 2 more Our Fathers very close (touching) together. The cord that is remaining at the joining knot should be burnt off and used for the cross bar of the cross.
- Cross Bar. Lay the piece you just burnt off flat on the table, place the rosary over it between the last Our Father and the last 2 Our Fathers. Hold the ends with each hand, cross them, bring over rosary and tighten. With each end of cord make an Our Father on either side to form the cross bar of the cross. Make these knots very tight - this is very important.
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