As a teen, it often felt like knots were something Boy Scouts did that had limited application in everyday life. After a decade of home ownership, I have to revise my position: knots are something you don’t need 99% of days, but when you do, it’s inconvenient not to know anything about them. It quickly devolves into googling sessions trying to figure out the right knot. It doesn’t help that there seem to be hundreds of knots for every situation thanks to knotting enthusiasts. This post exists as a reference for myself in the future so I can look up a required knot more easily. It is not meant to teach you knots; the point is collecting the main types of knots and when to use them so I can find the right instructions on animatedknots.com.
The picks below favor knots that are easy to learn, easy to check, and easy to untie after loading. They are not for climbing, rescue, or any load where a failure could hurt someone.
Quick reference: I need to…
| I need to… | Knot type | Use this knot | Google this |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep a rope end from pulling through a hole | Stopper | Figure-eight knot | “stopper knot” |
| Put a fixed loop in the end of a rope | End loop | Bowline | “end loop knot”, “fixed loop” |
| Tie a rope to a post, tree, ring, or rail | Hitch | Round turn & two half hitches | “hitch knot” |
| Join two ropes into one longer rope | Bend | Sheet bend | “bend knot”, “join two ropes” |
| Tie around a bundle, or two ends of the same cord | Binding | Square (reef) knot | “binding knot” |
| Pull a line tight and lock it (loads, tarps, ridgelines) | Tensioning hitch | Trucker’s hitch | “tensioning knot”, “mechanical advantage knot” |
| Adjust tension on a guyline or tent line | Slide & grip | Midshipman’s / taut-line hitch | “adjustable loop”, “slide and grip knot” |
| Loop that cinches but slides back open (stuffy leash, sack neck) | End loop | Running bowline | “running bowline”, “sliding noose” |
| Make a loop in the middle of a rope | Mid loop | Alpine butterfly | “mid loop knot”, “midline loop” |
| Quick, temporary tie to a pole, or start a lashing | Hitch | Clove hitch | “clove hitch” |
| Drag or lift a log or bundle of poles | Hitch | Timber hitch | “timber hitch” |
| Clamp a bag neck or bundle shut, semi-permanently | Binding | Constrictor knot | “binding knot that won’t slip” |
Animated Knots also groups knots by type, which matches the middle column: stoppers, end loops, mid loops, hitches, bends, slide & grip, and quick release.
Six Starter Knots
1. Stopper: figure-eight knot
Use it for: keeping a cord from pulling back through a grommet, pulley, cord lock, or drawstring channel; a stopper at the end of a line so it can’t run out of your hands.
Why this one: it’s bulkier than an overhand knot and still unties easily after being jammed tight.
Check it: it should look like a clear “8” before you snug it.
2. Fixed loop: bowline
Use it for: a loop to drop over a post or hook; tying a line around a tree trunk; the anchor end of a hammock or tarp line; a hand-hold loop; a collar for a stuffed-animal leash (size the loop to slip over the head but catch on the neck, and it never tightens no matter how hard a toddler pulls).
Why this one: the loop doesn’t tighten when loaded, and the knot breaks open easily afterward, even after a hard pull.
Check it: the tail should end up inside the loop. If it’s outside, you tied a “cowboy” bowline. It’s arguably just as secure, so this is more habit than safety, but pick one form and practice it until it’s automatic.
Caution: a bowline can work loose when it’s not under load. For anything that flaps or shakes, leave a long tail or add a stopper on it.
3. Hitch to an object: round turn & two half hitches
Use it for: a rope to a tree, fence post, railing, ring, or trailer tie-down point; the fixed end of a clothesline or tarp ridgeline.
Why this one: the round turn takes the strain while you tie, and the half hitches lock it. It’s easy to untie even under load.
Check it: both half hitches should go around the standing part the same way. Together they form a clove hitch around the rope.
Animated Knots: Round Turn & Two Half Hitches
4. Join two ropes: sheet bend
Use it for: extending a rope that’s too short; joining two different cords, even of different thickness or stiffness.
Why this one: it’s quick, and it works with mismatched ropes, where the square knot fails.
Check it: both tails should end up on the same side of the knot. For slippery rope or very different sizes, add a second wrap to make a double sheet bend.
5. Binding: square (reef) knot
Use it for: tying around a bundle (sleeping bag, firewood, rolled rug); tying off a bandage; closing a bag with its own drawstring. Tie it slipped, with a half bow, for quick release.
Why this one: it lies flat against what it binds and is the knot most people half-know already, since the shoelace bow is a slipped square knot.
Check it: each tail should exit alongside its own standing part. If the tails cross the knot diagonally, it’s a granny knot: retie with “right over left, then left over right.”
Caution: don’t use it to join two ropes under load (see Mistakes below).
6. Pull tight and lock: trucker’s hitch
Use it for: tying a load into a truck bed or onto a trailer; strapping a canoe or ladder to a roof rack; a tight tarp ridgeline between two trees.
Why this one: the line runs through a loop of itself like a pulley, giving you roughly 2:1 leverage, so you can get a line much tighter than by hand.
Check it: after tensioning, lock it with two half hitches (or a slipped half hitch for quick release). Without the lock, it lets go.
Animated Knots: Trucker’s Hitch
Situational extras
Learn these once a job calls for them.
- Adjustable tension: Midshipman’s hitch. For tent guylines, a sagging clothesline, or anything you’ll re-tighten. It slides when slack and grips when loaded. This is the close cousin of the taut-line hitch most people learned in Scouts. On slippery synthetic cord, try the adjustable grip hitch instead.
- Loop in the middle of a rope: Alpine butterfly. The hook point for a trucker’s hitch on a long line, a hand-hold in a hauling line, or a way to isolate a damaged section. It’s safe to load in any direction.
- Quick temporary tie or lashing start: Clove hitch. Fast, and it’s the building block of lashings. On its own it can slip, so back it up with a half hitch for anything that matters.
- Cinching loop that slides back open: Running bowline. A small bowline with the standing part passed through its loop, making a noose that snugs down and loosens by pushing the knot back. It won’t jam like a plain slip knot. Good for a stuffy leash when the toy has no neck for a fixed bowline to catch on. Safety: any cord long enough to be a leash is a strangulation hazard for a toddler; use it only under supervision and take it away at nap time and bedtime.
- Boat to dock: Cleat hitch. The standard for any horned cleat on a dock or boat.
- Drag or lift a log: Timber hitch. Grips a log or bundle of branches under pull and falls apart when slack. Add a half hitch on the end you’re pulling toward (making a killick hitch) to keep the load pointed straight.
- Clamp something shut for good: Constrictor knot. Closing a feed bag, holding a bundle of hoses, or temporary whipping on a fraying rope end. It grips hard and often has to be cut off.
- Join two climbing-style or slick ropes: Double fisherman’s bend or Zeppelin bend. The double fisherman’s is very secure but jams; the Zeppelin is secure and still unties.
- Quick release on anything: most knots above can be tied “slipped” by finishing with a bight instead of the end, like a shoelace bow. Pulling the tail releases the knot. Search “slipped [knot name]” or browse quick release knots.
Common mistakes
- Square knot as a rope join. Under load, or with ropes of different sizes, it can capsize and pull apart. Use a sheet bend.
- Granny knot instead of square knot. Same moves, wrong order, and it slips. Check that the tails exit alongside their own standing parts.
- Clove hitch for anything critical. It slips under shifting loads and can bind. Fine for a quick hold; not for towing or tie-downs.
- Trucker’s hitch without the lock. The tensioned line will slide back out. Always finish with half hitches.
- Overhand knot as a stopper. It jams hard and can be nearly impossible to untie. The figure-eight does the same job and comes undone.
- Trusting any of these for climbing, rescue, or lifting people. Those uses need trained technique, rated gear, and different knots.
Vocabulary for searching
Knowing these words makes search results and the animations much easier to follow. Animated Knots has a fuller terminology page.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Working end | The end you tie with |
| Standing part | The long, inactive rest of the rope |
| Bight | A U-shaped fold in the rope; “on a bight” means tied without using the end |
| Loop | A bight where the rope crosses itself |
| Turn / round turn | Rope passing once around an object / fully circling it twice |
| Hitch | Ties a rope to an object |
| Bend | Joins two ropes end to end |
| Binding knot | Holds things together by wrapping around them |
| Stopper | A lump at the end of a rope to keep it from pulling through |
| Slipped | Finished with a bight so a tug on the tail releases it |