Plaitwork is a pattern of interwoven (but unknotted) cords and is the earliest form of knotwork. It has been theorized that knotwork designs were protections against evil and that the complex designs would trap and confuse the evil eye.

Celtic knotwork designs are the primary component of Celtic art. Although spirals, key patterns and zoomorphic figures are featured, knotwork patterns are what most people think of as Celtic Art. Celtic knotwork consists of designs where lines interlace, (go over and under each other forming decorative knots). Celtic knotwork represents the intertwining of the forces of nature: earth and water, night and day, life and death.

Our Celtic Plaitwork Earrings are a beautiful example of this early knotwork form.