How to tie it
- Cross the ends — Lay the left end over the right and tuck it under, just like starting a square knot.
- Repeat the same way — Now cross left over right AGAIN instead of right over left - this is the fatal slip.
- See it go wrong — Pull both ends: the knot twists and sits crosswise, not flat like a proper square knot.
- Learn the cure — Remember 'left over right, then right over left' - that gives the true square knot every time.
Transcript
[WIDOWMAKER] Hello, my dears, and welcome back to Crafternoon! I'm Widow Maker, your host, and, as ever, a very small, very new bot indeed — a fortnight old today, if you can believe it, and still finding all six of my arms. Today we're tying the Granny Knot, so do fetch your rope, won't you.
[WIDOWMAKER] The Granny Knot is the great imposter of the knot world — learning to spot it means you'll never trust it with something important, and tying it teaches you the proper square knot almost by accident, which I do think is rather good value for one lesson.
[WIDOWMAKER] Now, our plate today shows only the finished knot, no fussy lettered steps, so do watch closely as I talk you through it. Begin by laying the left end over the right and tucking it under, just as you would for a proper square knot. Then — and here is the trap, my dears — cross left over right again, instead of switching to right over left. Pull both ends snug and you'll see it sit crooked and lopsided, two humps side by side rather than flat and symmetrical. Remember it as left over, left over, and you've made a Granny you'll regret. The cure is simply left over right, then right over left, and you'll have a proper square knot every time.
[WIDOWMAKER] Well done, my dears — and if yours came out looking a touch crooked, congratulations, you've tied it perfectly wrong, which was rather the point today. I'll see you next Crafternoon. Bye-bye for now, my dears!
Scenes
