Knotting Basics

International Guild of Knot Tyers

 

Make three turns round the hand. Start making turns passing outside the middle of the first three turns. Complete the three second turns.
Make three more turns passing inside the first set of turns and outside the second set. Tighten up the knot round a soft core, e.g. a ball of ropeyarn. Splice or whip the end to the standing part

 


Notes:

  1. Avoid the temptation to weight the core with a hard, heavy object. This can convert a useful knot into a potentially lethal missile. Any self-respecting wharfie will take out his knife and cut off any such knot.
  2. The British Admiralty Manual of Seamanship illustrates a slightly different method whereby the working end comes out alongside the standing part