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Knot code

Turn a metre of cord into a message you can wear, using a printed measuring strip. No cutting and nothing to lose.

about 20 minutes fiddly, and worth it makes a working machine

What you need

A metre of thin cord, string or wool
The printed measuring strip
Scissors
Patience

How to build it

Lay the cord along the stripLine the end up with the first mark. The strip is what turns distance into letters.
Count along for each letterA is one mark, B is two, C is three, up to five. Then start counting again for the next letter.
Tie a small knot at each letterSmall and tight, so the spacing stays true when the cord is handled.
Tie a big knot between wordsAnything obviously bigger. Without it, the words run together.
Wear itRound a wrist or through a belt loop. It looks like string, because it is string.
Never tie cord round a neck, and keep cord away from anyone small enough to get tangled in it.

The template

Print this at 100 per cent, not fit to page, or the sizes will be wrong. The ruler line below tells you whether it printed correctly.

10 cm12345123451234512345123451measuring strip: each mark is one letter along the cordA is one mark, B is two, and a big knot means a new wordpractice cord: tie a knot at each circle
The bar above should measure exactly 10 centimetres. If it does not, your printer has shrunk the page.

Now send something

Tie your initials in and see if your friend can read them with a copy of the strip. Then try it without the strip and see how much harder it is.

Where it comes from

The Andes, and any pocket
Writing you can wear

The Inca kept records on knotted cords called quipu: knot type, position and colour carrying numbers and, some argue, more than numbers. Nobody has fully read them. What is certain is that a length of cord can hold information, travel without looking like a document, and be worn on a wrist.

Why it works

Distance along the cord is the message. It is a code made of position, like a music box pin or a punched card, which is why the measuring strip is the important part and the cord is just cord.

When it goes wrong

It usually does, the first time. Almost always one of these.

Your friend counts a different letterThe knots have shifted. Tie them tight and small, and check against the strip after every few letters.
It is hard to count past fiveThat is why letters stop at five and start again. Keep the big word-knots obvious.

Where to go next

Codes made of positionBack to Make