Turk's Head Mat (5L4B)

The Turk's Head Mat (5L4B) is a Turk's Head opened out flat instead of tied around a pole. Turk's Heads are continuous braids, and the same knot can be worked as a ring around a spar or staff or spread into a disc, which is the form shown here. Its five leads and four bights make a denser and more intricate face than the smaller Turk's Head Mat (3L5B), and the flat versions can be made in a range of shapes and sizes simply by changing the number of leads and bights. Worked in fine cord it makes a coaster or trivet, and in heavier rope a mat that will sit under a foot or a hot pan.

This Turk's Head is of the form 5 Lead, 4 Bight, or 5L4B in abbreviated notation. A lead is one complete circuit of the cord around the knot, which in a flat mat means one journey around the center, counted before any doubling pass. Five leads means the single line travels around five times, and those five parallel passes are what the eye reads as a five strand braid. The bights are the scallops around the outside edge where the line turns back, four of them here. Raising the lead count from three to five carries the braid through more crossings on each circuit, which is why this mat shows a tighter and more elaborate pattern than the three lead forms while covering much the same area.

Follow the original lead around a second or third time to double or triple the braid, which closes the gaps between the parts and gives the mat a solid face. Tighten the whole figure evenly as it is worked rather than pulling any one part up tight, or the weave will run out of shape. Draw the two ends into the body of the mat and sew or seize them on the underside. A mat meant to sit on a polished surface can be backed with a clear sealant or an anti slip pad.