I learned the importance of tying a good knot as an 8-year-old chasing down a loose alpaca at my neighbor’s farm.
Some local kids and I were part of an informal 4-H type of program there caring for the animals and training them to compete in obstacle courses at fairs. An older girl could tie halter leads to the panel fence in a daisy chain.
I had tried to imitate it poorly, leading to a long run around the pen until we were able to corner the alpaca.
In the years since, it’s become clear there’s no place on the homestead where you won’t benefit from a knot, from securing tarps to retying bales to irrigation storage. The world of knots is a wide one, and some people grow to really love them.
With a length of twine and my pocket knife, I was able to get the hang of a few basics in an afternoon.
To learn more, find books just about tying knots (Boy Scout handbooks have been recommended to me as a good source). If you’re challenged translating pictures into actions, like I am, online videos or sites that animate the process can help, along with practice.
Basic skills
Practicing and understanding foundations like the overhand knot, the clove hitch and the square knot with visual resources like these will get you familiar with the words used for different parts of the knots.
Farmer’s Knot
I’d be remiss not to start with this one, which creates a loop in the middle of the rope. You can use the loop to hold things, attach other ropes, avoid a weak point in the line or make it shorter. I’ve used it most often to create crossing points when securing a tarp over a tractor.
Wrap the length of rope around your palm three times. Pull the center loop over the right one, then the new center over the left loop. Pull the new center over the new right, then the middle over the left and out to become your final loop. Remember to move the whole loop over the next in each step here, not just from the middle.
Miller’s Knot
This simple knot secures the top of a grain sack or feed bag easily. A number of variations like the sack hitch and the strangle knot accomplish the same purpose. For the miller version, start by placing the rope around the neck of the bag. Go around the neck again, then tuck one end under the initial loop, pull it through and tighten. This video helped me learn it.
Manger Hitch
There are a number of knots for securing animals to fences that untie with a quick pull on one end, but I like this one for its focus on tethering to a fence — and its use even in wet conditions.
The Ashley Book of Knots, a 1944 tome describing more than 3,800 knots, says about this one: “The cow is an inveterate slobberer. Although not in a class with the camel, she should be made fast with a hitch that will not jam when wet.” This one won’t.
To tie it, first place the rope over the fence panel or around the post to make a loop, then place the end behind it. Wrap the end twice around the loop, then again. Create a bight with the end, folding it back on itself, and bring that end down through the first loop at the bottom. If that’s a lot to follow, reference this step by step photo guide.
Timber Hitch
Moving pieces of wood can get a lot easier with this knot, which circles it and is suitable for towing light loads. Place your rope under and around the end of the wood. Bring the end back up and wrap it at least three times around the loop that circles it, tighten and you’re done.
Marl Knot
This knot can keep together rolls of landscape fabric, row cover cloth, bird netting or greenhouse plastic easily. Tie a running bowline at one end, run it down the length of the bundle tying a few overhand knots along it as you go, and end with a securing knot like the miller’s.
Sheet bend
This is the knot to use when connecting two ropes of different width, and it shouldn’t slip as much as a square knot would. Bend back the end of the wider rope piece. Run the end of the smaller rope through this, around the doubled ends, and back through itself where it came down through the loop.
Square lashing
Binding together broken fence posts, creating a basic structure, strengthening a ladder and more are all possible with square lashing. It begins with a clove hitch around two poles with diagonal wrapping, closed by half hitches. This one is best explained by diagram.
Trucker’s hitch
This is a good one for securing loads — maybe in your truck, or maybe just in an overfull wagon or harvest cart. Tie one end of the rope to your solid object, form a loop in the middle of it, wrap around an opposite point, send the free end through that loop, tighten and secure with two half hitches.
