39. Celtic Knot

Oops, a little late... Well, I made a star late this afternoon but had to leave before I could finish the post - film night with friends. :)

Today, I've had a lot of Irish music in my head. I couldn't stop singing and humming and whistling the same tunes over and over again. So, when I talked to my sister this afternoon and mentioned I had not yet made a star, she suggested to make an Irish star. That reminded me of an idea on my 'list of ideas' and so I made this:

I found the pattern online and then - remembering what I had learned a few years ago about making celtic knots - decided to pick it to pieces and figure out what shapes are behind it and how to draw it myself.

Now, for those who are somewhat in love with celtic knots like I am, I decided to write some instructions how this star can be made.

1. You draw 3 pentagons like this:

The outer ones are aproximately the same size. The smaller one has a side length of about 2/3 of the larger ones and has to be exactly aligned to one of them.

Mark the middles of each line with a little cross. (You should have 15 crosses in total.)

2. There are many different knots you can make from a pentagon shape. For this star you will need the following three:

The crosses on the pentagons you drew before now mark the points where the lines of the knot actually cross (as demonstrated in the first picture).  To get a more interesting look you should double the lines of the knot (second and third picture). I usually draw two new ones to both sides of the original one in order to keep the pattern even.

At the points where the lines cross, make sure that one line always runs alternately over and under the crossing line - thats the typical pattern of a celtic knot.

3. Now, the tricky bit is to merge all these three patterns into one.

Knot number one goes into the large pentagon that is aligned to the small one.

Knot number two goes into the small pentagon.

And knot number three into the other large one.

As you put the knots together make sure that again every line - no matter where you start - always alternately runs over and under another one.

4. Trace the lines of all knots with a permanent pen...

...and then erase the pentagons and crosses.

5. Colour it in if you like. (You might also like to use different colours for different knots.)

6. Relax your hands and enjoy. :)