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.
Knots tied alone · eyes closed?
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date