Paracord Anchor

This parcord project was inspired by Mark over at paracordguild.com with his Egyptian Ankh. This project is cord intensive, and I highly recommend you take your time with it. Most of all, have fun!

Begin by preparing your cord and tools. You will need:

2 - 8 foot sections of cord

4 - 25" sections of cord

2 - 4 ft sections of cord ***NOTE*** If you're using only one color for the anchor, you will need ONE 8 FOOT section.

A lighter

Scissors

A fid (highly recommended)

We will begin by forming the loop of the anchor. To do this, find the center of your 2 8 foot sections of cord (marked here by my pen). After finding the center, move up the cord at least 4". By moving up the cord, it will help keep your standing and working ends even after forming your loop. Mark or hold your cords at the 4" from center mark.

After finding your 4" from center mark, we can begin making the eye for your anchor. The eye is made by tying a series of wall knots, shown here. Begin tying wall knots. Keep an eye on your working strands. If you notice that they are getting much shorter than your standing ends (the strands above your first wall knot), you can form wall knots on the other end of the cords to keep your cords relatively even. After forming a series of knots, check to see if you can form your loop, in my case, 21. Once you are able to make your eye, we can move on to the vertical part of the anchor.

To start the vertical portion of the anchor, called the shank, we need to tie a box knot. The box knot will close your eye loop, and also set your cords up to start tying your shank. After closing the eye, you can move on to the round crown sinnet.

To form the shank, we will tie a round crown sinnet. The round crown sinnet is tied similarly to the box knot. I like to start on the bottom right and work clockwise. If the above image doesn't help, Shawn has a great tutorial!

https://youtu.be/NDX5dzF89L0?t=4m10s

Tie your sinnet as long as you like, but remember to leave enough cord to tie a terminal knot for the end of your sinnet. I like to use a crown and diamond knot. It looks great, is relatively simple, and hides your cords in the bottom of the anchor.

When your terminal knot is tied, you can cut and singe your cords.

The cross section of an anchor is called a stock. This is where we'll use our 4 25" cords. Using a fid, pull one 25" cord through the sinnet, running parallel with the eye loop (upper right image). Center the cord even on both sides of the sinnet. Do the same with another 25" cord one row down below the first cord. Once both are in place, we can start tying the stock. Working with one side, center a third 25" section in between the two cords you previously pulled through (upper right image). This will allow you to tie a box knot (bottom left image). To do this, I brought my top white cord down over the blue and to the right of the bottom white cord. The bottom white cord went up over the blue and to the top. The left side of the blue cord went over the white cord running up, and under the white cord running down. The right side of the blue cord went over the white cord running down, and under the white cord running up. Essentially, each side of the blue cord will go over a cord and under the next. Continue tying box knots to make your stock. When you're done with one side, pull the other side of the cords running through the round crown sinnet tight, and repeat your box knots on this side. Once you're done, cut and singe and your stock is complete.

The lower portion of the anchor is made using wall knots. If you're using 2 colors, join your 2 4 foot cords by melting and pushing them together. If you're using one color, find the center point of your 8 foot cord. We will make the pointy end of the bottom of the anchor, called the fluke, by tying a wall knot in the center of your cord. If you need a reminder on how to make a wall knot, reference the first image where we tied our (eye) loop. The concept is the same, except instead of using two cords, you're using both ends of one cord. Adjust the loop of the wall knot to your desired length, and then pinch it to flatten it to a point (upper left image). If you used two colors, you can choose which color you want the fluke to be, and hide the fused end inside the wall knot. To make the arm of the anchor, keep stacking wall knots until the arm is the length you want it for one side of the anchor. Using a fid, pull both ends through the round crown sinnet, just above your terminal knot (upper right image). Make sure it's parallel to the eye and stock! Pull the ends through tight, and form the other arm by tying more wall knots. When you're ready to make the fluke on the right side, we'll need to make a loop at the end of the wall knot. Here's a great tutorial by WhyKnot over on youtube.

Adjust your loop and pinch it. Cut and singe your cords.