Figure-8 Loop
Inspectable fixed eye. Higher band than a bowline; can jam after a snatch.
Beginner · Polyester / Nylon rope / Polypropylene / Natural fibre / Dyneema / HMPE
Connection card
Figure-8 Loop
For fixed eye in the end, loop dropped over a post.
Figure-eight tied in a bight; both strands nested; eye size set before the eight.
This card does not say how strong the knot is. A retention figure comes from a bench, in one material, at one diameter, tied by somebody who ties it all day — and the line in your hand is none of those. What it does tell you is whether the thing you have just tied is the thing the record describes.
What this plate is telling you
Inspectable fixed eye. Higher band than a bowline; can jam after a snatch.
Save this as a picture and it works with a dead signal and a nearly dead battery, which is when a joint is most often tied badly. The rest of this page — the steps, the seating sequence, the failure modes and the bench — is for the evening before.
Why this knot
What it earns its place with, what it costs, and what to reach for instead.
- A loop you must untie after a hard snatch (it can jam)
- Fairlead-critical running rigging
- Bight started too short for the eye needed
- Strands twisted or crossed inside the eight
- Knot pulled tight before the strands are dressed
- Chosen for a loop that has to be untied after a hard load
- BowlineBeginner
A fixed loop in the end of a rope, such as a mooring line to a ring or post
- Figure-8 StopperBeginner
Stopper in the end so the rope cannot pull through a block or fairlead
Before you start
- ·Tied on a bight, it suits a loop that can be dropped over a post. To make the loop through a ring or eye, tie the follow-through version instead.
- ·Make the bight long enough for the eye plus the knot. The eye is hard to resize once the knot is set.
- ·It can jam after heavy loading. If the loop has to be untied after hard loads, pick a knot that releases more easily.
Step 1 of 4 · move 1 of 1. Double the rope into a bight long enough for the eye you want
Space plays or pauses. Keys 1, 2, 3 and 4 set the speed. Arrow keys change the move.
swipe to step
01.1
Double the rope into a bight long enough for the eye you want
- Hold:
- Left hand holds the two parts of the rope together
- Move:
- Right hand draws a long bight down past where the knot will sit
You should now see: A long bight hanging down, its two parts side by side, with plenty of length below for the eye.
Fold the rope back on itself into a bight long enough for the eye you want plus the knot, and hold the two strands together side by side.
A doubled length of rope with the two strands lying flat together and the closed end of the bight well past where the knot will sit.
Starting with a bight that is too short. The eight takes up more of the doubled rope than it seems to, and the eye comes out too small for the post or clip.
Fix: Untie it and start again with a longer bight. Changing the eye size is hard once the knot has been set.
Why: The eight uses a good length of doubled rope, so the final eye size is mostly decided by where you start the knot.
- Eye eaten by the eight — Loop smaller than the post or too small to use. Eye size is decided in the bight before the eight.
arrow keys work
Tying procedure — Figure-8 Loop
Step 01 / 4
Fold the rope back on itself into a bight long enough for the eye you want plus the knot, and hold the two strands together side by side.
You should now see: A doubled length of rope with the two strands lying flat together and the closed end of the bight well past where the knot will sit.
If it goes wrong: Starting with a bight that is too short. The eight takes up more of the doubled rope than it seems to, and the eye comes out too small for the post or clip.
Fix: Untie it and start again with a longer bight. Changing the eye size is hard once the knot has been set.
Why: The eight uses a good length of doubled rope, so the final eye size is mostly decided by where you start the knot.
Step 1 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Double the rope into a bight long enough for the eye you want
Hold: Left hand holds the two parts of the rope together
Move: Right hand draws a long bight down past where the knot will sit
You should now see: A long bight hanging down, its two parts side by side, with plenty of length below for the eye.
Step 02 / 4
Treat the doubled rope as one strand: lay the bight over the standing strands to form a loop, take it under and around them, then pass it down through the loop.
You should now see: A loose figure-eight in the doubled rope, with the bight sticking out as the eye and the two strands following each other through every curve.
If it goes wrong: Letting the strands twist or cross as you tie. Somewhere in the eight one strand jumps over its partner, and the knot will not dress into a flat, even shape.
Fix: Loosen the eight and untwist the strands so they lie side by side. If you cannot find the crossing, untie it and tie the eight again.
Why: Tied on a bight, this is the same figure-eight as a stopper knot, made with two strands at once. The strands need to stay paired the whole way for the knot to dress properly.
Step 2 of 4 · move 1 of 3
Lay the doubled rope over itself to make a small loop
Hold: Left hand holds where the doubled rope crosses itself
Move: Right hand brings the bight round and over the doubled standing part
Step 2 of 4 · move 2 of 3
Take the bight round the outside of the loop and behind both parts above it
Hold: Left hand holds the small loop
Move: Right hand takes the bight down, up the outside, and behind the doubled rope
Step 2 of 4 · move 3 of 3
Bring the bight down through the loop from the front to make the eye
Hold: Left hand holds the loop open
Move: Right hand pushes the bight down through the loop and draws it out below
You should now see: A loose figure-eight in the doubled rope, with the bight hanging below it as the eye.
Step 03 / 4
Before loading it, work each curve of the eight so both strands lie parallel, and feed slack through the knot until the eye is the size you want.
You should now see: A symmetrical eight with the strands parallel through each curve and the eye at the size you need.
If it goes wrong: Pulling the knot tight before dressing it. The strands lock wherever they happened to fall, and any twist and the eye size are fixed in place.
Fix: If it is only snug, loosen it and dress it again. A loop that has taken a hard load may not open, so tie a new one rather than forcing it.
Why: Animated Knots advises dressing so the outer turns are brought in snug against the strands they enclose. Then pull on each strand and load the eye against the standing part to set it.
Step 3 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Dress the knot so the two eights lie side by side, and set the eye's size
Hold: Left hand holds the eye at the size you want
Move: Right hand works the strands until they lie parallel, then pulls the knot tight
You should now see: Two eights lying side by side through the whole knot, and an eye the size you meant.
Step 04 / 4
Trace both strands through the knot from the eye to the ends, then load the eye and watch the knot draw up.
You should now see: Two strands side by side at every part of the eight, and a knot that tightens neatly into a compact shape when the eye takes load.
If it goes wrong: Choosing this loop for a line you will need to untie after it has taken a hard jerk. After heavy loading it can jam, and you find out when it will not loosen.
Fix: Loosen a jammed knot by bending it back and forth. Where a loop has to be untied after heavy loads, use a knot that releases more easily, such as a bowline.
Why: Tracing the strands catches a crossed eight before it goes into use. Animated Knots gives the same check for the follow-through version: two strands beside each other at each part of the knot.
Step 4 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Inspect both strands: they run side by side and never cross
Hold: Left hand holds the knot where you can see it
Move: Right hand follows each strand through the knot with a finger
You should now see: Every pair of strands side by side through the whole knot. A crossed eight is a different, weaker knot: retie it.
What this is based onOwner sign-off
- Record
- Reviewed 2026-08-14. 2 sources are cited for this record.
- Drawing
- The owner read every step of this drawing and signed it off. The sign-off does not record the knot being tied from the drawing. Recorded 2026-09-14.
- Known limits
- None that stop a reader following it were confirmed in the plate audit of 2026-09-24; smaller findings were not all re-checked.
- Strength
- 64.8–86.3% of the weaker line, figure 8 on a bight in rope, 7 samples pooled across the literature; in cord the same knot ranges 39.9–91.8% and in webbing 61.0–86.2%, so the material matters as much as the knot. Measured — Thomas Evans, SAR3. From a published break test, on that tester's line, tying and pull rate.
Watch the tie
Drawn from this knot's sequence — the same rope as the steps. Not a recording of hands. It does not start until you press play.
Another recording
Rock Climbing: How to Tie a Figure 8 Knot on a BightREI · Opens on YouTubeAn outside recording of this construction. It is not the drawing above, and nothing here loads from YouTube until you follow the link.
Seating sequence — where failures are born
The step list compresses the finish. Run these phases in order, one at a time.
01 Form
Build the structure loose enough to see every turn.
None. Shape first.
02 Dress
Nest every turn. Crossed parts will walk or jam.
Light — hold the shape.
03 Set
Load the standing part so the intended turns take the strain.
Working load, not a snatch.
04 Check
Confirm the lock still breaks or inspects as the job requires.
None extra.
05 Commit
Only load it after the structure reads correct. Wrong means remake.
Working load, not a snatch.
Finished structure — what correct looks like
Drawn from a rope model of this knot: which strand passes over which comes from where the rope actually lies.
- Structure
- Figure-eight tied in a bight, both strands nested, eye the size you set before the eight
- Standing line
- Both standing parts leave the eight on-axis, parallel
- Tag end
- Bight end flush with the eight — no leftover tail pretending to be a lock
- Wraps
- Both strands of the eight nested — a crossed eight is a retie
- Seating
- Dressed hard; you cannot resize after a snatch
Verify before you load it
Every line is pass or fail. One fail means retie — do not load a knot you argued with.
- 01Figure-eight tied in a bight, both strands nested, eye the size you set before the eight
- 02Dressed hard; you cannot resize after a snatch
- 03Bight end flush with the eight — no leftover tail pretending to be a lock
- 04Both strands of the eight nested — a crossed eight is a retie
- 05Twisted or crossed eight will not dress and is weaker
- 06Parallel strands, inspectable eight, eye locked at the intended size
Field notes — dark, cold, gloves
- ·Dress is the lock. A pretty knot that is not dressed is not finished.
- ·HMPE usually wants a splice, not a hitch you learned in polyester.
- ·If you cannot break or inspect it under the load you expect, it is the wrong job.
When this family fails, it fails as these. The recovered end still outranks the name.
Nested eights in a bight — inspectable, stable, and they jam after a snatch.
- !Crossed eight that will not dress
- !Eye eaten by the eight because the loop was sized after the set
- !Expected to untie after a hard snatch
- !Heavily loaded, after which it can jam and be hard to untie
- !Loaded before dressing, with the strands twisted or crossed
- !Outer turns left loose instead of snug against the strands they enclose
Crossed eight
Weaker, hard to inspect, may not dress
Both strands must nest through the same eight · step 02
Eye eaten by the eight
Loop smaller than the post or too small to use
Eye size is decided in the bight before the eight · step 01
Expected to untie after a snatch
Jammed eight, knife job
This eye trades release for stability · step 04
Loop distorts or the eight will not dress
Check
- ?Nested eights
- ?Both strands parallel
Then
- →Untie and retie a clean eight
Crossed eight
Check
- ?Weaker, hard to inspect, may not dress
- ?Inspect step 02
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Eye eaten by the eight
Check
- ?Loop smaller than the post or too small to use
- ?Inspect step 01
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Expected to untie after a snatch
Check
- ?Jammed eight, knife job
- ?Inspect step 04
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Get it right with everything in your favour0/5 clean
Nothing logged on this knot yet, so it starts on the bottom rung.
Good light, dry hands, a table. Until the sequence is automatic here there is nothing for the harder rungs to test — you would only be learning that difficult conditions are difficult, which you already knew.
How · Tie it, check it against the list, log it. Five clean and the ladder opens.
Nothing marked. Log it clean, or mark what happened first.
Strength, and where the number comes from
64.8–86.3% of the weaker line
Measuredfigure 8 on a bight in rope, 7 samples pooled across the literature; in cord the same knot ranges 39.9–91.8% and in webbing 61.0–86.2%, so the material matters as much as the knot
A Review of Knot Strength Testing (2016) — Thomas Evans, SAR3
Percentages come from published tests on their own line, their own knot-tyer and their own pull rate. Yours is a different system. Treat a figure as a reason to test, not as a result you already have.
Animated Knots — Figure 8 Loopno link on file
- REI — Rock Climbing: How to Tie a Figure 8 Knot on a Bight
Cited tying video already attached to this record.
Record reviewed 2026-08-14
Vetted references
- Animated Knots — Figure 8 Follow Through Loop
Animated Knots by Grog
- Rock Climbing: How to Tie a Figure 8 Knot on a Bight
REI
Related knots
Check the finished knot against what correct looks like before you load it.