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I stumbled across it and I saw it in a showcase. I couldn't recognize it. It looks like it's a way to tie fixed loops in the middle of a rope.

enter image description here enter image description here

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  • 1
    Looks like something an art student would tie, aka a granny knot.
    – ShemSeger
    Jan 19, 2015 at 23:21
  • I also considered that it could be a decorative knot, but I wanted to share so to be sure (or to discover something new).
    – Dakatine
    Jan 19, 2015 at 23:29
  • Hard to tell from these photos, but it most closely resembles a buntline hitch. And they don't all appear to be tied the same way either.
    – montane
    Jan 20, 2015 at 2:59
  • It looks like the lines first had an overhand knot tied in them, the tail end was wrapped around the bar then fed back through the knot and tied off with a half hitch.
    – ShemSeger
    Jan 20, 2015 at 5:03
  • I got bored and recreated the second picture in your question. It's a slip knot for sure, see the picture in my edited answer below.
    – ShemSeger
    Feb 1, 2015 at 6:25

2 Answers 2

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6

Slip knot

It's undoubtably a slip knot that's been tied off with a half hitch. some of the knots look different because some are tied off right-handed while others are left-handed. Compare the image below to the second image in the question:

enter image description here

I think I even know why that knot was used in that display case too. Whoever made that display and tied the knot is obviously artsy or crafty, and probably crochets. When you start a crochet you tie of your yarn to the hook with a slip knot.

Imagine the picture below with the tail end tied off with a half hitch:

enter image description here

I don't know what's being hung in the display case, but the same person probably pre tied the overhand knot in the rope to mark how high to hang whatever it is they're hanging, then wrapped the tail end around the bar, fed it through the over hand knot, snugged it up the the bar then quickly tied off the tail with a half hitch.

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  • I deleted my post after Ben Crowell pointed out that the small loops are outside the main loop. I visually recreated two different knots from the pictures and both times ended up with a slip knot with a half hitch. Good eye! I wasn't able to recreate it without threading the end through, though.
    – Chris Mendez
    Jan 26, 2015 at 19:03
  • This is an epic answer.
    – Dakatine
    Feb 1, 2015 at 6:46
  • I do not agree. To me it looks like a clove hitch tied such that the initial lead is inside the knot rather than on the outside. If I had written this post I would delete it. (I am not going to vote for it though, not important in this use of the knot.)
    – Willeke ♦
    Apr 1, 2018 at 11:09
  • I like the idea of the pre-tied overhand for positioning. If it is some sort of installation that needs disassembly and re-assembly, leaving the overhands in as markers could be useful.
    – Dave X
    Nov 1, 2020 at 1:35
9

They are examples of a round turn and two half hitches. Sometimes known as an anchor hitch or a fisherman's hitch.

http://www.animatedknots.com/roundturn/index.php?Categ=boating

A Useful Boating Knot: A Round Turn and Two (or more) Half Hitches (ABOK # 1720, p 296) is useful for attaching a mooring line to a dock post or ring although probably less secure than the Anchor (Fisherman's) Hitch.

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  • Similar is the Anchor bend en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor_bend (but the first half hitch is passed under the turn).
    – Mapperz
    Jan 20, 2015 at 15:30
  • This looks similar to the knot Chris Mendez proposed. It's hard to tell from the photo, but I don't think it's the same knot.
    – user2169
    Jan 26, 2015 at 17:08

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