Sheet Bend

Tying procedure — Sheet Bend

1. Step 01 / 4

   Fold a bight in the end of the thicker or stiffer rope and hold it in one hand, with the short tail of the bight lying alongside its standing part.

   You should now see: A narrow U in the thicker rope, tail and standing part side by side, with the thinner rope still free.

   If it goes wrong: Making the bight in the thinner rope. The thick rope then has to wrap a bight too thin to hold it, and the bend can pull out as soon as it is loaded.

   Fix: Swap the roles before going on: let the thin rope go and fold the bight in the thicker rope instead.

   Why: The thinner, more flexible rope does all the wrapping and tucking. It grips best bent around a bight that is at least as thick as it is.

   1Bight in the thicker rope

   2Thinner rope's end

   Step 1 of 4 · move 1 of 1

   Fold the thicker rope back on itself to make a bight

   Hold: Left hand holds the bight, its closed end toward the other rope

   Move: Right hand brings the thinner rope's end up beside the bight

   You should now see: A bight in the thicker rope, with the thinner rope's end beside its closed end.

2. Step 02 / 4

   Bring the working end of the thinner rope up through the bight from underneath, leaving plenty of end to wrap with.

   You should now see: The thin rope rising out of the U from below, with a good length of working end free above the bight.

   If it goes wrong: Leaving too little end to work with. A short end is fiddly to tuck, and a sheet bend with short tails is the one most likely to roll out.

   Fix: Pull more of the thin rope through the bight now, while nothing is wrapped. Leave more tail on the thinner rope than on the thick one.

   Why: Entering from underneath and then following step 3 as written finishes with both tails on the same side of the knot.

   1Up through the bight

   Step 2 of 4 · move 1 of 1

   Pass the thinner rope up through the bight from underneath

   Hold: Left hand holds the bight flat

   Move: Right hand pushes the thinner rope's end up through the bight near its closed end

   You should now see: The thinner rope coming up through the bight from behind, with plenty of end above it.

3. Step 03 / 4

   Take the thin rope around behind both legs of the bight, tail leg first, then tuck it under itself so it is trapped between its own strand and the bight.

   You should now see: The thin rope wrapped around both legs of the bight with its end pinned flat under its own strand, lying across the bight and not through it.

   If it goes wrong: Going around only one leg of the bight, or laying the end over itself instead of under. Either way nothing holds the tuck down, and the thin rope slides off when you pull.

   Fix: Unwrap back to where the thin rope comes up through the bight, go around behind both legs, and tuck the end under its own strand.

   Why: When the ropes load, the thin rope's standing part presses the tucked end against the bight. That pinch is the grip of the whole bend.

   1Behind both parts of the bight

   Step 3 of 4 · move 1 of 2

   Take it round behind both parts of the bight, the short end first

   Hold: Left hand holds the bight and the thinner rope where it came through

   Move: Right hand takes the end over the short end, then behind the short end and the standing part

4. 1Tucked under itself

   Step 3 of 4 · move 2 of 2

   Tuck the end under itself, between itself and the bight

   Hold: Left hand holds the turn in place

   Move: Right hand tucks the end under the thinner rope where it comes up through the bight

   You should now see: The thinner rope's end tucked under its own standing part and lying along the bight, not over the top of itself.

5. Step 04 / 4

   Hold both standing parts and pull them apart to draw the knot up, then check which side of the knot each short tail comes out on.

   You should now see: A compact knot with both short tails on the same side, and a good tail left on each rope, longer on the thinner one.

   If it goes wrong: Tails ending on opposite sides of the knot. That is the left-handed sheet bend, which looks almost the same but is less reliable.

   Fix: Pull it apart and tie it again, taking the thin rope behind the tail leg of the bight first. For a critical load, leave both tails much longer.

   Why: Animated Knots notes that the ends in its animation were left short and must be left much longer for critical loads. Hook the Horizon names short tails as the commonest reason a sheet bend rolls out.

   Step 4 of 4 · move 1 of 1

   Pull both standing parts to dress it, with both short ends on the same side

   Hold: Left hand pulls the thicker rope's standing part

   Move: Right hand pulls the thinner rope's standing part the other way, slowly

   You should now see: Both short ends leaving the knot on the same side. Short ends on opposite sides is the left-handed sheet bend, which slips.