Hail and Howdy, fellow kinkers of cordage!
I’ve warned you, so now you’re going to get it. :-*
I first learned THK’s from Hervey Garrett Smith. I don’t know him nor owe him, but I really like his books!! He clued me in to the “trick” of turning a THK “inside out” to make it lay flat. He called them “Thump Mats”. I call them “Coasters”. Same thing. Nice. I especially like the way a 4L * 5B THK lays out, with a 5-pointed star figure in the center of a scalloped ring. Pretty, and it fits cups & glasses really well, too! (BTW: If anyone is interested, Nautile has drawn a remarkable, nifty, easy 4L * 5B start, in hand.)
As time went by, & my ambition outpaced my skill set, I found the IGKT and was encouraged greatly. So, with the confidence that only ignorance can bring, I fetched around for new Matting ideas.
After a little digging, on the IGKT PAB site, I found a Very Nice Oval Mat, ABOK #2270 or 2271, which was so easy to follow there are no instructions! And no mention of any useful “hints” … like “it is NOT round, but OVAL”!! And “It is extremely hard to fair!” That hung me up for a good while. Notice: That is an OVAL MAT!! At least I can’t make them round.
Hitch in haste, repent in seizure! 
The good news is, with a lot of practice you can tie it in hand, so you don’t waste any space; and straight off a spool (with one end only), so you don’t waste any cordage.
This mat makes a dandy Coaster or Pot Passer or Bowl Holder, as it’ll fit over your hand pretty well. So that’s two.
I was looking for a square mat. PABPRES, in his infinite Wisdom, mentioned ABOK# 2268 – in passing, in an offhand way. So I made an offhand note & filed it away. Then I worked my way to that spot on my list, and lo and behold, it turns out to be a really nice mat!
After looking at it, not only can you tie it in your hand, but you almost must. It’s that easy.
The downside is, you have to pass both ends through the knot to build it. That means you can’t just run cord off your spool. Okay, so that’s no big deal really. Some stores sell pre-cut hanks of cordage of various sizes. This is a perfect place to use them! Best of all, if you’re working with a group, you can hand out hanks to everyone & set them all tying this in just a few minutes. (As a reference, when I try this, 12’ of 3/16" diamond braid Polyester makes a doubled (2 ply) mat the size of a Palm Pilot PDA, more or less…) Count on an hour or two the first few times.
It works okay if you double it, but three plies will not likely please you. Just keep working the pattern – laying tracks & splitting them then fairing the whole knot (two useful skills all decorative knotters should have) – until you have about half your cord outside the knot. That may be 1/4 per end, or some combination. If you have much less than 1/2 total, you won’t be able to finish doubling. If more, well, you’ll cut the ends off & throw them away, just as you should. Seriously, you can work a lot of cordage into this mat, so don’t cut until you must.
If you double it, you can leave the inside part of one corner “very proud” and effectively create a hanging loop.
But there’s no need to double this one! I made one in about 18’ of 2mm hemp, one ply, and it wasn’t completely disgusting. It took a week to finish, though!! Hemp is tough to reeve through all the “gozunders” and “gozovers” (“goes under” “goes over”, props to PABPRES) in this mat!
Now, I’m a big believer in reciprocity. However, this is “reciprocating” only in the broadest, most generous sense. Yep, you remember, I don’t have an artistic bone in my body. You’ve been warned. The only real “benefit” I can conjure here is, since I actually drew this, I hereby declare you can feel free to print it in copious quantities to hand out to your nieces & nephews to play with.
(Or redraw it yourself, please!!)
Anyway, with all due thanks to all who have gone before, and with all apologies to anyone who has aesthetic sense, here goes - literally - nothing:
I told you so.
Enjoy!
Jimbo
