Page 19 - The New Encyclopedia of Knots

figure 10.3

Form a large bight, perhaps as much as a metre (yard) long, and hold the standing part and the end in
your right hand, while placing your other hand within the bight to twist the end around the standing
part twenty times. You should then lay the bight on the ground, and stand with your feet on the line
(figure 10.1). Meanwhile, transfer the standing part only to your now-free left hand; the working end

remains in your right hand.

Move your feet slightly apart to enlarge the loop and force the twists in the standing part and the
working end to tighten. Meanwhile pull the standing part and the working end firmly, keeping your
hands apart and at an angle of 45 degrees above the last twist in the line. Resist the tendency to lower

your hands.

This angle forces the twists tightly together, so that the working end which you are holding in your
right hand can now be lowered, almost to form a right-angle with the twists (figure 10.2). If you