Carrick mat

{{short description|Flat woven decorative knot}}

{{Infobox knot

| name=Carrick mat

| names= Prolong knot

| image=Carrick mat Brianetta.jpg

| caption=Carrick mat made with three passes

| type=decorative

| type2=

| strength=

| origin=

| related= Carrick bend, Turk's head, Austrian knot

| releasing=

| uses= Mat for padding or decoration

| caveat=

| abok_number= #2242, #2244

| conway_notation=

| ab_notation=

| instructions= [http://www.animatedknots.com/carrickmat/]

}}

File:Adventuress - on deck - detail 01.jpg

{{Infobox knot theory

| name= 8₁₈ knot

| common name= Carrick mat

| image= 8crossing-symmetrical.svg

| caption= Basic seamless form

| arf invariant= 1

| braid length= 8

| braid number= 3

| bridge number= 3

| crosscap number= 4

| crossing number= 8

| genus= 3

| hyperbolic volume= 12.35090621

| stick number=

| unknotting number= 2

| conway_notation= [8*]

| ab_notation= 8₁₈

| d-t name= 8a12

| dowker notation= 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 2, 4

| thistlethwaite=

| last crossing= 8

| last order= 17

| next crossing= 8

| next order= 19

| alternating= alternating

| fibered= fibered

| pretzel=

| prime= prime

| slice=

| symmetry= fully amphichiral

| tricolorable=

| twist=

| class = prime

}}

The carrick mat is a flat woven decorative knot which can be used as a mat or pad.{{Cite book|first=Geoffrey|last=Budworth|title=The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Knots & Ropework|location=London|publisher=Hermes House|year=1999|page=227}} Its name is based on the mat's decorative-type carrick bend with the ends connected together, forming an endless knot. A larger form, called the prolong knot, is made by expanding the basic carrick mat by extending, twisting, and overlapping its outer bights, then weaving the free ends through them. This process may be repeated to produce an arbitrarily long mat.{{cite book|last=Ashley |first=Clifford W. |title=The Ashley Book of Knots|year= 1944 |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York |pages=362–363}}

In its basic form it is the same as a 3-lead, 4-bight Turk's head knot.{{Cite book|first=Des|last=Pawson|title=Pocket Guide to Knots & Splices|location=Edison, NJ|publisher=Chartwell Books|year=2002|page=133}} The basic carrick mat, made with two passes of rope, also forms the central motif in the logo of the International Guild of Knot Tyers.{{Cite web|url=http://www.igkt.net/publications/index.php |title=IGKT Publications |publisher=International Guild of Knot Tyers |access-date=2011-03-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425043555/http://igkt.net/publications/index.php |archive-date=2011-04-25 }}

When tied to form a cylinder around the central opening, instead of lying flat, it can be used as a woggle.