Blackwall Hitch Fig.

8
Midshipman's Hitch Fig. 9
Double Blackwall Hitch Fig. 10

Overhand Knot (or Thumb Knot) Fig. 11

Figure-of-Eight Knot (Fig. 12).

Half Hitch (Fig13)

Two Half Hitches (Fig. 14)
Round Turn and Two Half Hitches (Fig. 15)

Fisherman's Bend (Fig. 16).

Clove Hitch (Fig. 17)

Ossel Hitch (Fig. 18).

Ossel Knot (Fig. 19).

Rolling Hitch (Fig.20)

Stopper Hitch (Fig.21)

Timber Hitch (Fig. 22).

Bowline (Fig. 23).

Running Bowline (Fig. 24).

French Bowline (Fig. 25).

Bowline on the Bight (Fig. 26)

Man Harness Hitch (Fig. 27)

Sheepshank (Figure 28)

Catspaw (Fig. 29)

Marline Hitch (Fig. 30)

Marline Spike Hitch (Fig. 31)

Draw Hitch (Fig. 32).

Monkey's Fist (Fig.33).

Roadmender's Knot (Fig. 34).

Sheet Bend (Fig. 35).

Double Sheet Bend (Fig. 36).

Two Half Hitches with the ends stopped back (Fig. 37).

Double Overhand Knot (Fig. 38).

Crown Knot (Fig. 40).

Wall Knot (Fig. 41).

Manrope Knot (Fig. 42).

Shroud Knot (Fig. 43).

Stopper Knot (Fig. 44).

Single Matthew Walker(Fig. 45).

Double Matthew Walker(Fig. 46).

Diamond Knot(Fig. 47).

Turk's Head (Fig. 48).

Footrope Knot (Fig. 49).

Long Footrope Knot (Fig. 50).

Heart Thimble (Fig. 51).

Lanyard Thimble (Fig. 52).
Sail Thimble (Fig. 53)

Eye Splice round a thimble (Fig. 54).

Eye Splice Wormed and Collared. (Fig. 55).

Eye in the middle of a rope(Fig. 56).

Flemish Eye. (Fig. 57).

Artificial or Spindle Eye. (Fig. 58).

Short Splicing (Fig. 59).

The knots and splices described above are all more for practical use than ornament,
although such shortenings as the Single and Double plaits, the Chain knots, the Twofold,
Fourfold, and Sixfold knots, and others are often used for ornamental purposes only. A
certain class of knots are, however, really ornamental and seldom serve to fasten two
ropes together, or to make any object fast to another. They are, however, very useful in
many ways, especially aboard ship, and they are so handsome and interesting that every
one interested in rope work should learn to make them.

The simplest of the fancy knots is known as the

"Single Crown" (Fig. 110). To form this knot unlay the strands of a new, flexible rope for
six to eight inches and whip the ends of each strand, as well as the standing part, to
prevent further untwisting.

Hold the rope in your left hand and fold one strand over and away from you, as shown
in A, Fig. 111. Then fold the next strand over A (see B, Fig. 111), and then, while holding
these in place with thumb and finger, pass the strand C over strand B, and through the
bight of A as shown in the illustration. Now pull all ends tight and work the bights up
smooth and snug; cut off ends and the knot is complete. This single crown is a very poor

knot to stand by itself, however, and is mainly valuable as a basis for other more
complicated knots and for ending up rope.

To end up a rope with a crown it is merely necessary to leave the projecting ends long
and then by bringing them down tuck under the strands of the standing part, as shown in
Fig. 112.

Then halve the strands and tuck again, as in making a short splice, until the result
appears as in Fig. 113. This makes a neat, handy, and ship-shape finish to a rope's end
and is very useful for painters, halyards, etc. It will never work loose like a seizing and is
quickly put on at any time, whereas to make a seizing one must be provided with small
stuff of some sort, and this is frequently not at hand.

The "Wall Knot" (Fig. 114) is almost as simple as the crown, and in fact is practically a
crown reversed.

In making this knot bring C downward and across the standing part; then
bring A over C and around standing part and finally bring Bover A and up through bight
of C, Fig. 115.

When drawn snug the ends may be trimmed off close or they may be tucked and tapered
as in the crown and will then appear as in Fig. 116.

As in the case of the crown knot, the wall is mainly of value as an ending when ends are
tucked, or as a basis for more ornamental knots such as the "Wall and Crown," or
"Double Wall," or "Double Crown." It is also very largely used in making "Shroud
Knots" (Fig. 117).

The common shroud knot is made by opening up the strands of a rope's end as for a short
splice and placing the two ends together in the same way. Then single "wall" the strands
of one rope around the standing part of another against the lay, taper the ends, and tuck
and serve all with yarn or marline (Fig. 118).

The "French Shroud Knot" is far neater and better, but is a little harder to make. Open up
the strands and place closely together as for the short splice; make a loop of strand A,
pass the end of B through the bight of A, as at C, make a loop of strand D, and pass the
end of strand A through it as at D; then pass the end of strand D through the bight of
strand B and one side is complete.

Repeat the operation on the other side, draw all ends taut, and taper and tuck the ends.
The whole should then be served carefully and the finished knot will appear as in Fig.
120.

Double wall and double crown as well as the beautiful double wall-and-crown knots are
made exactly like the single crown or wall but instead of trimming off or tucking the
ends they are carried around a second time following the lay of the first, as shown in Fig.
121, which shows the construction of a double crown at A, and a double wall at B.

When finished, the ends may be tucked or trimmed and the two knots will look like Figs.
122 and 123.

A far better effect is obtained by "Crowning" a wall knot. This is done by first making a
single wall knot and then by bringing strand A up over the top and laying B across A and
bringing C over B and through the bight of A; a crown knot is formed above the wall, as
shown in Figs. 124 and 125.

This is the foundation of the most beautiful of rope-end knots, known as the "Double
Wall and Crown," or "Manrope Knot," illustrated in Fig. 126. Make your single wall and
crown it, but leave the strands all slack; then pass the ends up and through the bights of
the slack single-wall knot and then push them alongside the strands in the single crown;
pushing them through the same bight in the crown and downward through the walling.
This may seem quite difficult, but if you have learned the wall and crown you will find it
simple enough, for it is really merely "following" the strands of the single wall and
crown. The result, if properly done, and ends drawn tight and cut off closely, is
surprising, and to the uninitiated most perplexing, for if the ends are tapered and tucked
through the standing part of the ropes, as shown in Fig. 127, there will be no sign of a
beginning or ending to this knot. This is probably the most useful of decorative knots
and is largely used aboard ship for finishing the ends of rope railings, the ends of manropes, for the ends of yoke-lines and to form "stoppers" or "toggles" to bucket handles,
slings, etc.

Its use in this way is illustrated in Figs. 128-130, which show how to make a handy
topsail-halyard toggle from an eye splice turned in a short piece of rope and finished
with a double wall and crown at the end. These toggles are very useful about small boats,
as they may be used as stops for furling sails, for slings around gaffs or spars, for
hoisting, and in a variety of other ways which will at once suggest themselves to the
boating man.

The most difficult of ending knots and

one which you should certainly learn is the "Matthew Walker" (Fig. 131), also known as
the "Stopper Knot." To form this splendid knot, pass one strand around the standing part
of the rope and through its own bight, then pass B underneath and through bight of A and
through its own bight also; next pass Cunderneath and around and through the bights
of A, B, and its own bight.

The knot will now appear as in Fig. 132, but by carefully hauling the ends around and
working the bight taut a little at a time the knot will assume the appearance shown in
Fig. 133.

This is a handsome and useful knot and is widely used on ends of ropes where they pass
through holes, as for bucket handles, ropes for trap-door handles, chest handles, etc. The
knot is well adapted for such purposes, as it is hard, close, and presents an almost flat
shoulder on its lower side.

The "Turk's Head," Figs. 135 and 136, is a knot much used aboard yachts and warships
and is so handsome and ornamental that it is a great favorite. It is used in ornamenting
rigging, in forming shoulders or rings on stays or ropes to hold other gear in place, to
ornament yoke lines, and for forming slip-collars on knife lanyards. It is also used to
form collars around stanchions or spars, and, placed around a rope close beneath a manrope knot, it gives a beautiful finish. When made of small line sailors often use the
Turk's Head as a neckerchief fastener. Although so elaborate in effect, it is really an easy
knot to make, and while you may have difficulty in getting it right at first a little patience
and practice will enable you to become proficient and capable of tying it rapidly and
easily in any place or position.
To make a Turk's Head, have a smooth, round stick, or other object, and some closely
twisted or braided small line. Pass two turns of the line around the rod, A, Fig. 135, from
left to right, and pass the upper bight down through the lower and reeve the upper end
down through it, as at B. Then pass the bight up again and run the end over the lower
bight and up between it and the upper bight. Turn the upper bight again through the
lower one and pass the end over what is now the upper bight and between it and the
lower, C, Fig. 135.

Now work from left to right, following the lay of the knot (or, in other words, passing
your long end alongside the first end), D, Fig. 135, until a braid of two or more lays is
completed, as shown in Fig. 136. The Turk's Head may be drawn as tight as desired
around the rope, or rod, by working up the slack and drawing all bights taut.

A variation of the knot may be formed by making the first part as described and then by
slipping the knot to the end of the rod; work one side tighter than the other until the

"Head" forms a complete cap, as shown in Fig. 137. This makes a splendid finish for the
ends of flagpoles, stanchions, etc.

Ropes that are to be used as hand-lines, stanchions, man-ropes, railings, or in fact

wherever a neat appearance counts, are usually wormed, served, and parcelled. Worming
consists in twisting a small line into the grooves between the strands of rope, A, Fig. 138.
This fills up the grooves and makes the rope smooth and ready for serving or parcelling.
Parcelling consists in covering the rope already wormed with a strip of canvas wound
spirally around it with the edges overlapping, B, Fig. 138. Serving is merely wrapping
the rope with spun yarn, marline, or other small stuff, C, Fig. 138. Although this may all
be done by hand, yet it can be accomplished far better by using a "Serving Mallet,"
shown in D, Fig. 138. This instrument enables you to work tighter and more evenly than
by hand, but in either case you must have the rope to be served stretched tightly between
two uprights.

Often a rope is served without parcelling and for ordinary purposes parcelling is not
required. A variation of serving is made by "half-hitch" work, as shown in Figs. 139-140.
This is very pretty when well done and is very easy to accomplish.

Take a half-hitch around the rope to be served, then another below it; draw snug; take
another half-hitch and so on until the object is covered and the series of half-hitch knots
forms a spiral twist, as shown in the illustrations. Bottles, jugs, ropes, stanchions,
fenders, and numerous other articles may be covered with half-hitch work; and as you
become more expert you will be able to use several lines of half-hitches at the same
time.

Four-strand braiding is also highly ornamental and is easy and simple. The process is
illustrated in Fig. 141, and consists in crossing the opposite strands across and past one
another, as shown in A, B, C, Fig 141.

Still more ornamental is the "Crown-braid"

which appears, when finished, as in Fig. 143. The process of forming this braid is
exactly like ordinary crowning and does not require any description; it may be done with
any number of strands, but four or six are usually as many as the beginner cares to
handle at one time.

When the rope-worker has mastered all the knots, ties, bends, hitches, and splices I have
described, he will find a new field open to the use of rope in innumerable ways. Barrels,
casks, bales, or other objects may be roped, or slung, with ease and security; ropes will
be pressed into service for straps and belts; and buckles may be readily formed by the
simple expedient shown in Fig. 144.

If a swivel is required it can be arranged as

shown in Fig. 145, while several simple slings are illustrated in Figs. 146-148. In a
factory, or machine shop, rope belting will often prove far better than leather, and if well
spliced together will run very smoothly and evenly even on long stretches. As a
recreation for killing time aboard ship, or on rainy vacation days, few occupations will
prove more enjoyable than tying fancy knots and making new splices and bends or
inventing new variations of the numerous hitches, ties, and knots you already know.

Turks Heads
Step 1: Determine what size your knot will be. This might just be the hardest part of
tying a turks head around something. You need to make sure you have
enough Bights (the bends at the top and bottom of the knot) to go around whatever you
are tying your knot around. Too few and your knot will look stretched out (elongated),
Too many and you will not be able to tighten it down to fit the object correctly. Most of
the time it takes trial and error to find the best fit, though you can narrow it down by
tying a few smaller test knots first. Different types of line tighten down differently in a
turks head knot. Soft line will tend to "shrink up" and not cover as well as a stiffer line
would.
Step 2: You will need to determine how long your knot will be, or the number
of Leads your knot will be. The more leads you have, the longer your knot will be.
Step 3: Now that you know how many Bights and Leads you will need to make the knot
the size you want, you will need to know if the combination will work in a turks head.
Use the chart below to see if your knot can be tied or not.
Example 1: You determined you will need a knot with 6 Bights and 9 Leads, on the
chart you find the number 6 at the top and follow it down to the number 9 on the side
where you find an X. An X means you cannot tie this knot, you will need to add or
remove a Bight or Lead from your knot.
Example 2: You determined you will need a knot with 5 Bights and 8 Leads, on the
chart you find the number 5 at the top and follow it down to the number 8 on the side
where you find an O. An O means you can tie this knot.
Step 4: Now that you know your knot can be tied, you will need to setup a pattern for
your knot. I like to use a Grid pattern for most of my knots, especially the larger turks
heads. It makes it easier for me to follow. On the Grid pattern below you will
see Thicker lines (or Bars) at the cross points. This is what tells me if I should
go over or under the crossing line
Example: Lets start with a smaller turks head, a 5 Bight by 8 Lead knot. Looking at the
diagram below I've numbered the Bights and Leads for you. Print out the diagram , you
may need to resize it down to a good working size, roll it into a cylinder with the Bights
at the top and tape the edges together. Make sure you line it up correctly, you want
the Bars from the right side of the page to overlap the thin lines on the left side. I find it
easier to tape it to a wood dowel or a cardboard tube (from a roll of paper towels) so I
can drive pins into it at the Bights to hold the shape of the knot while I'm working it.
Fig 1 Shows what you should have so far. I've taped mine to a 1in wooden dowel. I
drilled 1/8in holes at the Bights to hold 1/8in x 1/2in long dowels. They are just pushed
into the holes, not glued, so they can be removed. You can use a cardboard tube and pins
if you like. You can see I have marked some of the leads on the grid pattern. The dowel I
have is about 12in long and the pattern taped to it is a 5 bight by 32 lead. You can see
some of the other holes I've drilled for a 5 x 4 and a 5 x 6 knots, but I taped a piece of
plain white paper over the rest of it to just show the 5 x 8 knot.

Turks Head Chart

TJ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
2 X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O
3 O X O O X O O X O O X O O X O O X O O X O O X O
4 X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O
5 O O O X O O O O X O O O O O O O O O X O O O O X
6 X X X O X O X X X O X O X X X O X O X X X O X O
7 O O O O O X O O O O O O X O O O O O O X O O O O
8 X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O
9 O X O O X O O X O O X O O X O O X O O X O O X O
10 X O X X X O X O X O X O X X X O X O X O X O X X
11 O O O O O O O O O X O O O O O O O O O O X O O O
12 X X X O X O X X X X X O X X X O X O X X X O X O
13 O O O O O O O O O O O X O O O O O O O O O O O O
14 X O X O X X X O X O O X O O X O X O X X X O X O
15 O X O X X O O X X O X O O X O O X O O X O O X X
16 X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O
17 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O X O O O O X O O O
18 X X X O X O X X X O X O X X X O X O X X X O X O
19 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O X O O O O O O
20 X O X X X O X O X O X O X X X O X O X O X O X X
21 O X O O X X O X O O X O X X O O X O O X O O X O
22 X O X O X O X O X X X O X O X O X O X O X O X O
23 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O X O O
24 X X X O X O X X X O X O X X X O X O X X X O X O
25 O O O X O O O O X O O X O X O O O O X O O O O X
26 X O X O X O X O X O X X X O X O X O X O X O X O
27 O X O O X O O X O O X O O X O O X O O X O O X O
28 X O X O X X X O X O X O X O X O X O X X X O X O
29 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
30 X X X X X O X X X O X O X X X O X O X X X O X X
31 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
32 X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O
33 O X O O X O O X O X X O O X O O X O O X X O X O
34 X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X X X O X O X O X O
35 O O O X O X O O X O O O X X O O O O X X O O O X
36 X X X O X O X X X O X O X X X O X O X X X O X O
37 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
38 X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X O X X X O X O X O
39 O X O O X O O X O O X X O X O O X O O X O O X O
40 X O X X X O X O X O X O X X X O X O X O X O X X
41 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
42 X X X O X X X X X O X O X X X O X O X X X O X O
43 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
44 X O X O X O X O X X X O X O X O X O X O X O X O

45 O X O X X O O X X O X O O X O O X O X X O O X X
"0" Can be tied "X" Cannot be tied

Step 5: Starting the knot. Pull out about 6ft of line from the spool, but don't cut it, you
may need more line before you are finished. Its easier to feed more line through the knot
than to cut a longer piece and start over, and if you have extra line when you are finished
you can always feed it back as you tighten the knot down and roll it back onto your
spool. Make a slipknot loop in the line at the 6ft point and place it over one of the pins.
Any pin can be the starting point, at either the top or bottom of your knot. If you look
at Fig 2 you see the slipknot in the lower right of the picture. I started from the bottom of
this one. From your starting point follow the black line around till you come to the bight
at the top of the knot, go over your pin and keep following the line till you come to a
point where you are about to cross your line. If the bar at that point is going with you,
go Over your line, if it is going against you, go Under your line. In Fig 2 it is against
me, so I went under. Keep following it around, going over or under as the bars tell you
till you come back to the point you started. You should have a knot like Fig 3. You can
now remove the pins as the knot will hold it shape fairly well on its own. To Double
your knot just follow your first pass, Fig 4, keeping your line beside the other. Most
turks heads look best if they are Doubled or Tripled, as in Fig 5 & Fig 6, In Fig 6 I used
a 2nd contrasting color, turks head knots don't have to be all one color, I like the way the
two color knot looks when it is tightened down, really shows off the Over and Under
pattern well. Fig 7 shows a doubled knot tightened down on a 3/4in dowel. Also in Fig
7 are a few tools I use, top is a nail set I bought from a local hardware store. I use it most
of all. It works great to push a line under another, to get under a line to pull it tight, and
to tuck in cut ends of a line. The other is a loop rug hook tool I picked up from a craft
store. Its real handy when you need to pull a line under another and don't have much
room.

Basic Flat Braid

The elements are divided into two equal or nearly equal groups, and the outside element
from one group is carried over the rest of that group and added to the inside of the other
group.
Type: 3-strand This is the "basic" braid, virtually ubiquitous in time and place.
Construction: over 1

Examples:
1. Medieval London- worsted wool, each element composed of 5 strands (Crowfoot
et al. 1992)
2. Medieval York- interesting example made from hair moss (Walton 1989)
3. Medieval York- as part of a more complex diamond mesh structure (Walton 1989)
Type: 5-strand
Construction: over 2

Examples:
1. Durham, early 10th c. silk edging sewn to tablet-woven band (Crowfoot 1939)
Type: 8-strand
Construction: over 3/over 4

Examples:
1. Durham, early 10th c. silk edging sewn to tablet-woven band (Crowfoot 1939)

Basic round or square braid.

This braid is excellent for making cords and lacings. It is constructed with a multiple of
4 elements. The elements are divided into four groups. The outside cord is taken over its
own group and two adjacent groups, and then carried under the last group it crossed over
to end in the center of the band.
Type: 4-strand
Construction: over 2, under 1

This braid can also be made quite quickly with 4 weighted bobbins. Then end of the
braid is attached to a fixed point, allowing the bobbins to hang. If the bobbins are held so
that they are at the corners of a square, the braid can be made simply by interchanging
the diagonal elements.

Examples:
1. prehistoric Denmark- leather thong (Hald 1980)
Type: 8-strand
Construction: over 5, under 2

Examples:
1. Most common braid found in medieval London (13-14th c.), all were silk, and at
least one was more than one color (Crowfoot et al. 1992)
2. prehistoric and medieval Denmark (Hald 1980)
Type: 12-strand
Construction: over 8, under3

Examples:
1. survives in Scandinavian folk crafts, probably much earlier (Hald 1980)
2. very common in other areas- Peru, Middle East
Type: 6-strand
Construction: over 4, under 1, over
This is a variation on the basic form of round braid

Examples:
1. Medieval London- one silk braid found (Crowfoot et al. 1992)

Other Structures
There are a few other types of braid which I think are interesting and useful, but which
don't fit in the previous categories, so I've tacked them on at the end.
Type: 5-strand guilloche
Construction: 2 outer over 2 inner, wrap 5th

This braid can be produced more quickly using 2 card-weaving cards, threaded in
opposite directions with 2 strands each. Instead of passing the weft through the shed, it is
wrapped around the inner pair.

Examples:
1. Durham, early 10th c.- silk edging on tablet-woven band (Crowfoot 1939)

Finger weaving
In another very common class of braids, the elements serve as both warp and weft,
following a diagonal course over and under the other elements (tabby weave).

These braids were used in Scandinavia as garters and carrying straps (Hald 1980).
Arrowhead and zig-zag patterns were common (created by the starting arangement of

colors, not by differences in method.) Scraps of wool braid were found at Mammen, and
a leather strap made in this technique was found at Oseberg.

TUTORIAL FOR 17 STRAND FRENCH SENNIT BOSUN LANARD

Cut eight pieces of cord 12 ft long and one 6 ft long.
Middle the 12ft length. This gives us 16 strands at 72. The single 6 ft strand will make
the 17th. strand.
(You want to treat the ends of the cord to keep them from fraying out while working. I use
CyanoAcrylate (super Glue) but be sure you get the THIN or FAST-SETTING type with the
sort of bottle with a nozzle so you can apply only a small quantity to the line. Always work over
a piece of scrap (carpet, cardboard, whatever) when applying CA to line... it has a tendency to
drip off the end and then someone is gonna be all over you for ruining the carpet/floor/her
life... caution is advised!... ed)
If using Nylon burn the loose ends. When starting and if using nylon carefully fuse (or
tie) the strands together about 5 inches down from the start. If using cotton or similar
cord seize the strands by wrapping with a small diameter cord.. The purpose of leaving the
extra cord at the beginning is to give you something to work with when bringing the two
ends together after you finish your neckpiece.
Secure the strands to a fixed object then separate the cords with a group of ten on one
side
and seven on the other. (see fig 1) Starting with the ten side on the left (or right...doesnt
matter... ed.) side, plait the three outboard lines over two and under five (See figs 2 & 3).
Now you have ten strands on the right and seven on the left (see fig 4). Reverse the
plaiting, three over two and under five. Continue this way until you get the length of the
Lanyard to fit over your head.
Be careful to keep the seven and ten groups separated or you will have to undo several
plaits to figure out where you went wrong. Also about every five plaits separate the loose
hanging cords to keep them from being tangled. If using nylon you can usually shake the
cords and pull a couple out from the tangled mess. It is pretty easy to do this but if you
make too many plaits without un-tangling the loose ends, it is much more difficult. When
doing this make sure you keep the part you are working with separated. After you get the
hang of it, you should be able to finish this section in an hour or less.
(If youre in the Military, active or reserve, be sure the lanyard is large enough to put on
and take off without disturbing your cover! I cant tell you the number of times some 06+ or
CPO asked me to take it off so they could look at mine... ed.)
When you get to the desired length of the neckpiece of the lanyard, bring the two ends
of
the plaited lanyard together. Make sure you keep the ten and seven groups of strands
separated until you tie the ends together.
Using one of the loose strands wrap the two ends together. This part will later be
covered
with a Turks head so don't make the wrap too long. Cut off close to the wrap the 17 loose
strands you started with ( the extra 5 inches) Take eight of the long loose ends ( four from
each outside edge ) and get them out of the way for now. With the other nine strands that
are now in the middle, bundle eight for a core and with the other strand make continuous
half hitches around it. (see pic below) Do this for about 4 inches to make your strop
(instead of the half hitches you could substitute a round or square plait if you like). Cut
off the eight strands that you placed out of the way. On the end you are working with cut
of two of the nine strands. If using nylon burn the loose ends. Take one of the seven
remaining strands and place it over a chair or something to get it out of your way for now.
With the remaining six strands make a simple over and under plait in groups of two over

two continuous reversing the process until you achieve about an eight-inch length. (see
pic below) Bring the loose ends together at the starting point where the half hitch section
ends and wrap them together with the loose single strand that you had gotten out of your
way. Cut off all the extra loose ends. Where the sections come together will require
Turks heads to cover the wraps.
If you don't want to make a large Turks head with several bights, use a slightly larger
cord
and chase it around four of five times. How you end it off is up to you.

Fata

Spate

Impletitura dubla in 17

Impletitura dubla in 9

The Crocodile-Back or
Crocodile Ridge
Crocodile Ridge Braid of 8 Strands
In these pictures the braid is shown loose for better detail
Pic One
Bringing strand No. 4 to the right over strand No. 5 starts the
eight-strand braid.

Pic 2
Strand No. 3 passes to the right under strands No. 4 and No. 5 and
with a slight CW twist brought back to the left over strand No. 4.

Pic 3
Always work strands form alternating sides. Strand No. 6 is brought
to the left under two
strands and with a slight CCW twist is brought back to the right over
one strand.

Pic 4
Strand No. 2 is brought from the left over one strand and under two, a
slight CW twist and brought back to the left over one strand.

Pic 5
Strand No. 7 is brought from the right over one strand and under two,
a slight CCW twist and brought back to the right over one strand

Pic 6
Strand No. one is brought from the left under one, over one and under
two strands, a slight CCW twist and brought back to the left over one
strand.

Pic 7
Strand No. 8 is brought from the right under one, over one and under
two strands, a slight CW twist and brought back to the right over one
strand.

Pic 8
This completes one cycle of the Crocodile Ridge Braid. From here on
the sequence is the same (alternating) for both sides: the outside
strand is brought from, the left or right, under one strand, over one
strand and under two strands, a slight, CCW or CW, twist and back
the reverse direction over one strand.

Pic 9
After braiding several inches you will find it easier to do and you will
see the pattern starting to show up. Be sure to keep the tension on all
of the strands even while braiding. This one braid that will really not
look well if the tension is irregular. Braid the desired length for the
project and terminate as desired. The slight CCW and CW twists
should also be done as evenly as possible for a proper looking braid.
You will get the feeling for the slight twist also after a few inches of
braiding. This beautiful braid, made with one, two, three or more
ridges on a flat-type braid foundation, is used for many purposes. As a
flat type braid it can be used for belts, reins, hobbles, hatbands and
etc., and as round braid for handle coverings.