2. Introduction…
• “It is extraordinary how little
the average individual knows
about the art of making even
the simplest knots”
• ( R. M. Abraham-Winter Nights’ Entertainments, 1932 )
• Knotting is an enjoyable pastime. Most
people can learn to tie knots and soon
acquire an impressive repertoire. Knot
tying is as absorbing as reading a good
book, and the end product is as
3. • Jigsaw puzzle-but with many more practical
applications.
– Everyone ought to know a few knots ; that’s why
the International Guild of Knots Tyers ( IGKT ),
founded in 1982, is now a recognized
educational charity.
– Nobody should be over-dependent upon safety
pins and superglues, patent zips ( zippers ) and
clips and other fastenings, when suitable length
of cord and the right combination of knots are
cheaper, consume less of the planet’s scarce
energy resources and often work better.
4. 1.THE OVERHAND KNOT
• Make a bight, bring the end of the
rope up through it and draw it
tight. This is the common knot
used by all.
5. 2. THE GRANNY KNOT
• This knot is now widely used in First
• Aid Bandaging in place of the
square knot, which formerly was
recommended.
• Make an overhand knot. Now make a
second overhand, crossing the end
over the standing apart in the way it
was done before.
6. 3. THE SQUARE KNOT
• Never slips or jams, and easy to
untie to untie. It should be
used on all packages.
• Make an overhand knot. Then
make a second overhand,
crossing the end over the
standing part in the opposite
direction.
7. 4. SURGEON’S KNOT
• Used by doctors in tying the stitches
of a flesh wound. It is a valuable knot
for prospective missionary to learn.
• Make an overhand knot, then pass
the end through the bight a second
time.
8. 5. THE SLIPKNOT
• The slipknot is used to hitch a
horse to a post. The knot slips, but
if properly tied, becomes tighter the
more the end is pulled.
• Make a bight, and instead of
bringing the end up through it, as
in the case of the overhand, bring a
loop through.
9. 6. THE BOWLINE
• This is used for tying a person or
an animal when it is important
that the noose shall not become
tight, as in lowering a person from
a burning building.
– “The rabbit came out from
its hole, turn around a tree
and go back to its hole again”
10. 7. THE DOUBLE BOW
• The common knot used by all boys
and girls every time they tie their
shoelaces.
• 8. THE SHEET BEND
• This knot is used in bending the sheet
to the clew of a sail and also when
tying two ropes of different thickness
together.
11. Make a loop with rope, just the end of
the other rope up through and around
the whole loop, then bend it under its
own standing apart.
9. THE SHEEPSHANK
This knot is valuable for taking up a
slack when both ends of the rope are
tied. Gather up the amount to be
shortened then make a half hitch
around each of the bends.
12. 10. THE FISHERMANS KNOT
• Useful in tying together anything
smooth and stiff, such as silkworm
gut. It does not slip and easily untied.
