I Will Survive Activity #2
Knot Tying
Ready or not, we are tying knots!!
Knot tying is a great skill to have in numerous situations such as camping, sailing, or fishing, and not only that, but it can be fun too! We have some cool examples to show you that are kid friendly. Some may be a bit tricky, but don’t get discouraged, with lots of practise you can become a knot master!
**We recommend that you use a thick type of rope like in the pictures so that it is easy to untie the knots when your child is finished.
Here are the knots we are going to learn:
Figure 8 Knot
Half Hitch Knot
Half Knot
Overhand Knot
Square Knot
Figure 8 knot- The figure eight knot is most used in rock climbing and sailing, it is a type of stopper knot. If you were wondering “What is a stopper knot?”, well usually the knot helps stop the rope from unraveling through a hole or another knot.
Step #1- First you take one end of your rope, and you make a loop with the loose end laying on top.
Step #2- Next you take the loose end and you wrap it around behind the beginning of the loop.
Step #3- Then you take the loose end and bring it through the original loop that you made.
Step #4- And pull it.
Step #5- Lastly, you pull it tight, and there you go you made a figure eight knot!
Half hitch-This is a type of overhand knot, an overhand knot is one of the fundamental knots, and it forms the basis to make many others. This knot is used to secure the end of a rope to a fixed object, so half hitch knots are frequently used to tie up boats.
Step #1- First you take a stick and you wrap a loose end around it.
Step #2- Then, you take the loose end and cross it over and pull it through the loop you’ve made.
Step #3- Next you do that same thing over again by crossing the loose end over and pulling it through the loop.
Step #4- Lastly, you pull the knot tight and you have your very own half hitch knot.
Half knot- This knot is a popular one to use as it is very quick to tie, but has the disadvantage of slipping upside down or falling off the object it’s tied to. Some uses for this type of knot include: tying scarves or bandanas, friendship bracelets, sinnet jewelry, and has become recently popular again for macrame patterns.
Step #1- First, you lay out two loose ends.
Step #2- Next you cross one end over the other.
Step #3- Then, you take one of the ends and you bring it under the other end.
Step #4- Lastly you then pull it tight.
Here’s an example of where most people tie a half knot every single day!
Overhand knot- This knot is described by many as “the simplest of the Single-Strand Stopper Knots.” It can be used to prevent the end of a piece of rope unraveling. An advantage to this knot is it can be tied tightly around an object, but this knot is on the small end of the scale.
Step #1- First, you take your rope and pick one loose end.
Step #2- Now make a small loop, with the loose end underneath.
Step #3- Next you take the loose end, and pull it through the loop. Lastly, pull it tight and there is your overhand knot.
Square knot- This is a binding knot that is used often when safety is not critical as it can not be trusted to, for example, secure a sail cover to the sail on a boat. It is commonly used to tie 2 pieces of rope together, wrap ribbon around a gift, or tying long shoelaces up.
Step #1- First you lay out two loose ends.
Step #2- And you make the half knot, as shown above.
Step #3- Next with the two loose ends you take the left end and lay it over the right end.
**Here’s a tip, if you aren’t sure what is left and right, take your hands and hold them out so your palms are facing away from you. Then put your thumbs out straight to the side and whatever hand makes an L shape then that is the left and the backwards L on the other hand is the right.
Step #4- Then you pull the loose ends and make it tight, and you’ve made a square knot.