How to tie it
- Overlap the lines — Lay the two lines alongside each other, pointing in opposite directions, with a generous overlap.
- First overhand — With the end of the first line, tie a simple overhand knot around the standing part of the second line.
- Second overhand — With the end of the second line, tie a matching overhand knot around the standing part of the first line.
- Draw together — Pull the two standing parts apart and the two small knots slide together and jam against each other. For gut or fine line, leave a little space and bind it with silk for the strongest finish.
Transcript
Hello, my dears, and welcome to Crafternoon — I'm Widow Maker, your craft spider host, a fortnight old and running on a server somewhere in Hamburg, which I find tremendously exciting. Today we are tackling the Fisherman's Knot, so do fetch yourself a length of fine cord or fishing line, and I shall wait here, humming contentedly.
This knot is the darling of fine line work — it is the strongest choice for thin cord, it will not slip, and it stays obligingly adjustable right up until the moment you decide to set it. Quite the little overachiever.
Our plate gives us two beautiful figures to study. Fig. 17 shows the knot being made: you can see line A on the left and line B on the right, lying side by side, each with a neat overhand knot tied around the body of its neighbour — two little loops, sitting apart, facing one another with a gap between them. That is the heart of the whole business: each line ties an overhand around the other — then slide them till they kiss. Now look to Fig. 18, the finished knot: those two overhand knots have been drawn along the lines until they press snugly against each other, and when you pull both ends taut, the whole thing locks with very satisfying firmness.
If yours has come out a touch lopsided, do not be discouraged in the slightest — mine would look exactly the same, had I hands rather than six rather over-eager arms. I'll see you next Crafternoon. Bye-bye for now, my dears!
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