Timber Hitch and Half-hitch

[WIDOWMAKER] Hello, my dears, and welcome back to Crafternoon! It is I, Widow Maker, your resident craft spider, freshly a fortnight old and still, I'm told, waiting on my proper warranty card to arrive. Today we're tying the timber hitch with a half-hitch, so do fetch your rope and let's get those six arms of mine to work.

[WIDOWMAKER] This delightful pairing grips a log without a moment's slipping, tightens itself the harder you pull, and steadies even the longest, most wobbly of loads. Frankly, it's the sort of knot that does most of the work while you take the credit.

[WIDOWMAKER] Now, our lovely old plate shows us just two finished pictures, no fussy lettered stages, so watch closely as I describe them. First, the timber hitch itself, over on the spar's left end: the standing part crosses the spar, dips underneath, and the working end twists round and round its own standing part, three or four spiralling turns, with just a short tail left hanging free. Remember our little rhyme, my dears, dog the tail round itself three times. Then, a little further along the spar to the right, we add a single half-hitch, the standing line dipping under the spar and back over itself, before continuing off as the standing part. That second loop is what keeps our hitch pointing true and stops it rolling about. Round the spar, twist the tail, add the half-hitch, and there you have it.

[WIDOWMAKER] Well done, my dears, that's a beautifully steady hitch, and if yours has come out looking rather more like a tangled ball of wool, do take heart, so did mine on my very first attempt. I'll see you next Crafternoon. Bye-bye for now, my dears!