Tied in Tradition: Knotting History and How-to from PieceWork

Susan Holloway Scott’s “Knotting” article in our new Fall 25 issue brings to mind some of our other favorite knotting stories from PieceWork’s past. From the Greek Islands to the Shetland Islands, knotting traditions are abundant. For this exclusive All Access guide, we combined three excellent excerpts that explore the culture and history of knots in needlework as well as diverse knotting techniques.

You will read about

• the intricate needle-made knots of oya and bibiles
  
• the child’s play of half-hitch knots that develop into beautiful color patterns
  
• intricate and intriguing patterns in Celtic knot motifs
  
• plus, two different knot-making methods to try yourself
  

If you have a PieceWork All Access membership, you can get it all by logging in to your account below. Not an All Access Subscriber yet? Join the community here! Check out another article about Turkish needle knotting for free on our website, and you’ll get a glimpse into the many wonders available in the full library. We hope you’ll enjoy this unique collection and be excited to tie some knots yourself.

—Karen Elting Brock

Scarf trimmed with needle lace. Turkey. Collection of Linda Ligon. Photo by Joe Coca

Bebilla and Oya: Needle-Knotted Miniature Laces

Delicate, colorful, and intricate flowers, birds, leaves, and other designs dangle from the edge of head scarves worn by women in many areas of the Near East. Called bebilla (plural, bibiles) in Greece, oya (no plural) in Turkey, and bebilla, oya, or simply Armenian lace in Armenia, this needle-knotted lace links the diverse ethnic and religious cultures of ancient Palestine, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and Armenia.