Caroline Britz - My First Book of Nautical Knots: A Guide to Sailing and Decorative Knots

TABLE OF CONTENTS GUIDELINES AND MATERIALS Do you know what ropework is ? Its the art of knowing how to make knots! Aboard sailing vessels many types of knots exist, all of them different. Some are used to raise sails, others to lengthen ropes; some are tied in the blink of an eye, others require greater concentration. And some are even so pretty that you can use them to make a necklace or to propose to your beloved Sailors have perfected the art of tying knots and passed on this knowledge from generation to generation. And today, young sailor, you will learn how to tie these knots. All youll need to do is have some materials ready, and follow the instructions step by step. To make these knots, you can use any kind of thread, string, or rope.

You can start practicing with cooking twine or laces. The key is to have strands long enough that you can complete the knot. To make bracelets, you can use cotton or elastic threads if you want to add beads or small charms. Of course, for gimp stitching, youll need plastic lacing. Youll find all these suppliesin various colors and with different diametersin a haberdashery or a hobby/crafts store. Once you become a seasoned sailor, you can try to tie knots with ropes made of textile, hemp, or synthetic fiber.

This kind of rope is sold in stores specializing in sports equipment, do-it-yourself, or at maritime cooperatives. THE BENEFITS OF ROPEWORK To learn to make a knot, youll have to be methodical and always pay attention to the direction in which youre making a loop or whether youre passing one strand under or over another. You must respect each step and keep calm. Youll see your concentration greatly improve thanks to making knots! Once youve memorized the different steps for a knot, youll find you can make it more and more quickly, and maybe even with just one hand, like the old salts. Your fingers will become more and more agile! But thats not all. Getting the knots down will enable you to make many objects: key chains, bracelets and necklaces, pendants, small rugs.

Let your imagination and creativity run free. Some Vocabulary First things first, you need to know some essential words in order to make knots. A knot consists of two or more strands. The strand that you move, with which you make loops or turns, its called the running end . The strand thats not moving is called the standing end . When we talk about firmly tightening a knot, we sometimes call that making something fast! SLIP KNOT Here we have a very simple, very effective, and very handy knot! It will be really useful for all the jewelry that youll discover how to make in this book.

Whats it for? Its mainly for tightening a thread or rope around an object. The more you pull it, the more it tightens. Its therefore used to hang things or to attach objects such as carabiners. But it can also be a decorative knot. For those who like to crochet, its also very useful to make in the yarn as a start to a length of slip stitches. Did you know? The slip knot is also used for the hangmans knot.

At sea, we never say the word rope itself because a rope was used to hang mutineers. This is why sailors invented many different words for ropes on boats and ships: ends, shrouds, sheets, halyards, hawsers, stern lines, spring lines but never ropes! Making a Slip Knot Make a loop. Make sure the middle of the standing end passes through the loop. Tighten the loop and your standing end. You can add a simple knot, like the kind on your shoelaces, at the end of your running end. The knot is finished! Tip Creating Adjustable Jewelry Using a Slip Knot Its useful to have necklaces or bracelets that can get longer and shorter when you want to swap jewelry with friends.

Thanks to the slip knot, you can adjust the length of your creations however you like. You can also, for example, slide pearls or small charms onto a little cord or thread and then close with a slip knot. FIGURE EIGHT KNOT This is one of the easiest knots to tie and untie, and, without a doubt, one of the most useful! Whats it for? Its a stopper knot: placed at the end of a rope or line to prevent it from escaping the hole in which it has gone. We also use the figure eight knot to make knots for climbing ropes! Its strong enough that it can hold your weight. Once you know how to make it, you can use this knot on a boat, at the end of the sheets that position the sails. And most importantly, every morning to tie your shoelaces! Did you know? In ancient times, builders made thirteen figure eight knots, all the same distance from each other along a long rope.

Thanks to this, they could measure heights or draw geometric shapes. A little like a tape measure! Making a Figure Eight Knot To do this, you just have to make an eight. Grab the running end and pass it under the standing end to form a loop. Take the running end and go back over the standing end. Thread it through the first loop.