How to Tie a Bowline Knot

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Use a mnemonic to remember how to tie the knot.

   Think of the loop as a "rabbit's hole" and the string end coming off the loop as a "tree".
   
   Imagine the other loose end of the string, which you're holding in your right hand, is the "rabbit".
   
   The rabbit comes up the hole, runs around the tree, and goes back down the hole.
   
   Another way to remember how to make this knot is with a rhyme: "Lay the bight to make a hole Then under the back and around the pole Over the top and through the eye Clinch it tight and let it lie"
2. 2

   Step 2: Hold one end of the rope in your left hand.

   This will be your ‘standing end’ or the end that does not move (consider this end the ‘hole’ and the ‘tree’.) Hold the other end in your right hand (this is the free end--the end of the rope that will be used to form the knot, or the ‘rabbit.’)Make a small loop with the end of the string in your left hand.
   
   This loop is the ‘hole’ the rabbit comes out of.
   
   These instructions assume you start with an "underhand" loop, so that the free end of the string is under the intersection formed by the loop., The end should be coming towards you as it goes through the loop.
   
   Think of this as the rabbit coming out of its hole. , This string is the part pointing upwards from the loop (the ‘tree’.) Pull the ‘rabbit’ back through the loop and down into the ‘hole’.
   
   This time the end is going away from you. , Hold the other end in your right hand and pull the ends in opposite directions to tighten the knot.
3. 3

   Step 3: Draw the end of the string in your right hand (the rabbit) through the loop made by your left hand (the hole.)

4. 4

   Step 4: Bring the ‘rabbit’ end around (behind) the string.

5. 5

   Step 5: Take the top loose string in your left hand.

Detailed Guide

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