# Best software to make very plain knot drawings

**URL:** <https://discourse.igkt.net/t/best-software-to-make-very-plain-knot-drawings/7200>\
**Category:** Knot-related Computing\
**Created:** [1 October 2020 13:08 UTC](https://discourse.igkt.net/t/best-software-to-make-very-plain-knot-drawings/7200 "2020-10-01T13:08:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 10\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Catchingtimes](https://discourse.igkt.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Catchingtimes](https://discourse.igkt.net/u/Catchingtimes)\
**Post date:** [1 October 2020 13:08 UTC](https://discourse.igkt.net/t/best-software-to-make-very-plain-knot-drawings/7200/1 "2020-10-01T13:08:11Z")

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I’m planning on creating a page/section for fishing related knots to my website ([https://www.catchingtimes.com](https://www.catchingtimes.com)). I would like to custom the look/colors to fit the overall layout of my site and the design of knot pics should be very plain and simple. What would be the best and easiest way to make drawings of these knots?

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**Author:** ![Pat\_Ducey](https://discourse.igkt.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Pat\_Ducey](https://discourse.igkt.net/u/Pat_Ducey)\
**Post date:** [1 October 2020 19:00 UTC](https://discourse.igkt.net/t/best-software-to-make-very-plain-knot-drawings/7200/2 "2020-10-01T19:00:19Z")

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I have used Microsoft paint to draw knots, but it was clunky and time consuming to produce a drawing of what I was trying to describe. I currently use AutoCAD, which I use at work, but at over $1000 a seat, this is not really an inexpensive or easy solution. There are several low cost and free drawing programs, and most of them are intuitive, so should be easy to learn.

Another option would be to take photos of each stage on tying a knot. Paracord comes in many different colors and should photograph well.

Good luck! Pat

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**Author:** ![Catchingtimes](https://discourse.igkt.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Catchingtimes](https://discourse.igkt.net/u/Catchingtimes)\
**Post date:** [2 October 2020 09:01 UTC](https://discourse.igkt.net/t/best-software-to-make-very-plain-knot-drawings/7200/3 "2020-10-02T09:01:42Z")

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Thanks Pat. I think the drawings would probably fit a bit better to the overall look of my site, but the photos are definitely a good option as well.

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**Author:** ![enhaut](https://discourse.igkt.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/87869e/32.png) [@enhaut](https://discourse.igkt.net/u/enhaut)\
**Post date:** [2 October 2020 19:27 UTC](https://discourse.igkt.net/t/best-software-to-make-very-plain-knot-drawings/7200/4 "2020-10-02T19:27:26Z")

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@Catchingtimes  
The software Illustrator allows a precise rendering, the facility to scale drawings easily  
and to export in light web-friendly format.  
The learning curve is very steep, if you are in a hurry just forget it, but the pleasure to work with vectors is immense.  
Here is an example of a knot(helical loop) rendering in Illustrator post in this forum;

[https://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=5227.msg35371#msg35371](https://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=5227.msg35371#msg35371)

jr.

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**Author:** ![Knutern](https://discourse.igkt.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/47e85d/32.png) [@Knutern](https://discourse.igkt.net/u/Knutern)\
**Post date:** [3 October 2020 09:43 UTC](https://discourse.igkt.net/t/best-software-to-make-very-plain-knot-drawings/7200/5 "2020-10-03T09:43:41Z")

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If you don’t want to pay for the software, you may opt for Inkscape, a Open source alternative.  
[https://inkscape.org/](https://inkscape.org/)

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**Author:** ![KnotMe](https://discourse.igkt.net/user_avatar/discourse.igkt.net/knotme/32/5735_2.png) [@KnotMe](https://discourse.igkt.net/u/KnotMe)\
**Post date:** [4 October 2020 22:16 UTC](https://discourse.igkt.net/t/best-software-to-make-very-plain-knot-drawings/7200/6 "2020-10-04T22:16:19Z")

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Also, Inkscape has a “knot mode” which lets you quickly do over and under adjustments to your lines.

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**Author:** ![Knutern](https://discourse.igkt.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/47e85d/32.png) [@Knutern](https://discourse.igkt.net/u/Knutern)\
**Post date:** [6 October 2020 15:49 UTC](https://discourse.igkt.net/t/best-software-to-make-very-plain-knot-drawings/7200/7 "2020-10-06T15:49:41Z")

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> [@KnotMe post:6](#):
>
> Also, Inkscape has a “knot mode” which lets you quickly do over and under adjustments to your lines.

I can’t find any tutorial or description on this online. Do you happens to know the exact name of the function mentioned ?

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**Author:** ![enhaut](https://discourse.igkt.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/87869e/32.png) [@enhaut](https://discourse.igkt.net/u/enhaut)\
**Post date:** [6 October 2020 19:11 UTC](https://discourse.igkt.net/t/best-software-to-make-very-plain-knot-drawings/7200/8 "2020-10-06T19:11:06Z")

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@Knutern

This one is well done;  
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8SSuAbBOLg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8SSuAbBOLg)

This one I did not watch yet but seems rather advanced;  
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0O\_1L5YxOQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0O_1L5YxOQ)

jr.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Knutern](https://discourse.igkt.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/47e85d/32.png) [@Knutern](https://discourse.igkt.net/u/Knutern)\
**Post date:** [6 October 2020 21:56 UTC](https://discourse.igkt.net/t/best-software-to-make-very-plain-knot-drawings/7200/9 "2020-10-06T21:56:16Z")

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Ah - The live path effect . . .

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pacharanero](https://discourse.igkt.net/user_avatar/discourse.igkt.net/pacharanero/32/88_2.png) [@pacharanero](https://discourse.igkt.net/u/pacharanero)\
**Post date:** [24 September 2025 18:09 UTC](https://discourse.igkt.net/t/best-software-to-make-very-plain-knot-drawings/7200/10 "2025-09-24T18:09:54Z")

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I was looking for this exact thing and searched the forum, found this helpful topic. Thanks to the contributors above.

In Inkscape this is fairly easy for simple knots, but time consuming to get it looking really neat. For a complex knot this could take all day. But here’s what I did, in case it helps others.

### Mini-tutorial: Steps for a basic knot in Inkscape

- Create a new [Inkscape](https://inkscape.org/) document.

- Using the [Pen Tool](https://inkscape-manuals.readthedocs.io/en/latest/pen-tool.html), draw out the curve of the ‘rope’. Don’t worry about over/under crossings at this stage, it will just be a line.

- In ‘Fill and Stroke - Fill’ ensure fill is unselected or you will get a filled blob rather than a linear knot.

- In ‘Fill and Stroke - Stroke Style’ you can select the thickness of the ‘rope’ as required.

- I found that ‘Make selected nodes symmetric’ from the toolbar was useful for making the line flow more naturally.

- Select the object and apply the Path Effect called ‘Knot’. This applies the under and over effect, and allows you to _switch_ between under and over on a per-intersection basis.

- To move the _switcher_ you **drag** it to the next intersection - yes the dragging bit is NOT obvious. (I tried all sorts).

- Once you’ve got the over-and-under pattern done you need to convert the single line ‘Stroke’ into a ‘Path’. This allows you more control over the line ends, they can be tidied up and made parallel to the edge of the rope as they go under. To do this use ‘Stroke to Path’ from the Path menu.

- Now you can individually tweak the corners of the edges where the ropes go under another one, making it look better.

- For a little more realism I made a copy of the SVG file, went back in the Inkscape edit history to find the unsplit ‘stroke’ without under-over effects, made it gray, and copied that into a layer _underneath_ the black version, which made the ‘gaps’ just a different shade rather than completely absent.

Here’s the finished article

 ![figure-8](https://discourse.igkt.net/uploads/default/original/2X/6/64cabac0ed03281f89222cfd8cab2991b93dbbd4.svg)