Knots and Cord making

Duration: 1 day: starting at 09:00 and finishing at 17:00

Course content: Knots, problem solving exercises, ropes, cord making

The ability to make cord and tie appropriate knots are valuable survival skills. For example cord can be used for fishing lines, for constructing shelters, to make tools and so on.

This course covers cord making and a range of important knots used in bushcraft. It includes coiling methods, making loops, sliding knots, securing hitches, knots to join two lengths of rope, haulage knots, constrictor knots, lashing methods and more. The knots are given in the context of their practical applications and after learning a group of knots you will be set a challenge to test your understanding. This should help you to mentally store each group of knots. The session will also be broken up with a cord making exercise where you will collect and prepare natural fibres and then learn to weave them into cord. We don't necessarily expect you to go away having learnt every knot we demonstrate but you should have a better understanding of knot usage and be in a good position for further learning.

Learning outcomes: At the end of the course you should:

• Understand a range of practical knots used in bushcraft
• Understand how to make cord from natural materials found in the wood