Two chairs, or a chair leg and a broom handle, to tie toHave
A dish towel or two to hangHave
Where: A kitchen, a porch or a yard with two chair backs or posts.
Rope safety: read this first
Nothing around necks, ever, not even as a joke. Rope stays on chair legs and broomsticks.
These are practice knots. Nothing in this plan holds a person, climbs or lifts anything heavy.
Keep the clothesline low and in view, so no one trips on it or runs into it.
02Steps
Wrap the rope around the pole
Dad showsKid copiesHold the long part of the rope in your left hand. Take the end around a chair leg or broom handle and bring it back across the long part.
Wrap a second time
Dad showsKid copiesCross over the long part and go around the pole a second time. You now have two turns that cross each other.
Tuck the end and pull
KidPass the end under the last turn and pull both ends. That's a clove hitch. Pull the long part and feel how snugly it grips the pole.
FIG: Clove hitch, from the 1911 scouting handbook, p. 51.
Two half hitches on the second chair
Dad showsKid copiesTake the rope around the second chair leg. Bring the end around the long part and through the loop it makes, then do it once more. Slide the two hitches snug against the chair.
FIG: Two half hitches, from the 1911 scouting handbook, p. 51.
Hang the clothesline
KidDrape the dish towels over the rope between the chairs. Say what each knot is good for: the clove hitch is quick to put on a pole, the two half hitches are quick to tie to a post.
Untie and race
TogetherUntie both knots, then each tie both knots again. Time each other. When they can tie both without help, sign their field card.
03If it stalls
If the clove hitch slips off, the second turn probably went the wrong way. Untie it and make the two turns cross over each other.
If the two half hitches slide, check that each one goes around the long part and through its own loop.
Thick, soft rope is easier on small hands than thin slippery cord.
04Variations
Ages 3–5
Skip the knots and just wrap the rope around a broom handle twice. Dad finishes the hitch.
Ages 6–9
The full plan, with Dad shadowing the first clove hitch.
Ages 10+
Tie the clove hitch with the rope in one hand, then with eyes closed.
RainThis is a kitchen-table plan. Use two chairs.
HotDo it in the shade and hang a wet washcloth on the line.
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1911 scouting handbook, p. 51. The 1911 book says the clove hitch holds snugly on a pole without sliding sideways, and describes tying it with two turns and the end tucked under the last turn. It calls two half hitches easy to make. Project Gutenberg (public domain in the USA) Checked Oct 15, 2026
Dad Field Manual · Field card 65 · Classic Field Skills
Tie a clove hitch and two half hitches
Thirty minutes, one rope and two chairs. Learn the two knots that tie a rope to a pole or post, then hang a dish towel clothesline between them.
Time
30 min
Cost
$0
Ages
6 and up
Where
Anywhere
Since 1911: The knots are the same as in 1911. Treat them as practice and camp-chore knots only: do not use them to hold a person, climb or lift anything heavy.
What you need
A soft rope or cord about 6 feet long
Two chairs, or a chair leg and a broom handle, to tie to
A dish towel or two to hang
Rope safety: read this first
Nothing around necks, ever, not even as a joke. Rope stays on chair legs and broomsticks.
These are practice knots. Nothing in this plan holds a person, climbs or lifts anything heavy.
Keep the clothesline low and in view, so no one trips on it or runs into it.
Steps
Wrap the rope around the pole. Hold the long part in your left hand and take the end once around the pole.
Wrap a second time. Cross over the long part and make a second turn around the pole.
Tuck the end and pull. Tuck the end under the last turn and pull snug. That's a clove hitch.
Two half hitches on the second chair. Go around the second pole, then loop the end around the long part and through twice; slide snug.
Hang the clothesline. Hang a towel over the rope between the chairs.
Untie and race. Untie both knots, then race to tie them again.
If it stalls
If the clove hitch slips off, the second turn probably went the wrong way. Untie it and make the two turns cross over each other.
If the two half hitches slide, check that each one goes around the long part and through its own loop.
