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KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 1

DES PAWSON’S
KNOT CRAFT
The book that makes all
other knot books work

Second edition

Des Pawson
Illustrations by Ann Norman

ADLARD COLES NAUTICAL

LONDON
 This book is dedicated to those forgotten and anonymous
sailors, riggers, sailmakers, fendermakers and other workers
in rope who passed their knowledge on to the next generation
so these skills can be with us today. Thank you.

Published by Adlard Coles Nautical

an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square, London, WCIB 3DP
www.adlardcoles.com

Copyright © Des Pawson 2003

First edition 2003

Reissued 2007
Second edition 2010

Print ISBN 978-1-4081-1949-5

ePDF ISBN 978-1-4081-0781-2
ePub ISBN 978-1-4081-5614-8

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or
information storage and retrieval systems – without the prior
permission in writing of the publishers.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from

the British Library.

Note: While all reasonable care has been taken in the publication
of this book, the author and publisher take no responsibility for
the use of the methods or products described in the book.
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 3

Contents
Introduction 4 Covering a wheel 64
Some tips of the trade 6 Belts 67
∞∞∞∞ Grommets for quoits, blocks
Simple key ring 14 & sea chest beckets 70
Shackle release lanyard in A pair of fancy spliced
Portuguese sennit 16 chest beckets 73
Deluxe key ring 18 Some Turk’s heads
Bellrope worked for decoration or
with 6 ends 20 napkin rings 75
Bellrope worked with Knot board notes 80
8 ends 23 Monkey’s fist/light pull 82
A simple side fender 26 Monkey’s fist/door stop 84
Side fender using the A sailor’s whisk 87
crown sennit 29 Baggywrinkle 89
Hitching over a Bowsprit net 92
plastic fender 32 Dog leads 95
Bow fender 35 A jib shackle 98
Button fender 40 The ocean & prolong
Rope ladders 43 mats 100
A simple lanyard 46 Hitched oval mat 102
A fancy lanyard 49 Kringle mat 104
A Bosun’s chair/swing 52 Oblong deck mat 106
Rope handrails 54 ∞∞∞∞
Cat-o-nine tails (ditty bag Appendix 109
lanyard) 56 Further reading 110
Tiller/boat hook The International Guild of
covering 59 Knot Tyers 111
Binocular strap 62 Index 112
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 4

Introduction
have been published on how to tie practical
M ANY BOOKS
knots, and a lesser number on decorative knotting, but
while the latter may show how to make a fancy knot, they don’t
provide much help in putting the knots together to make an
object, be it key fob, fender, rope ladder, mat or lanyard. Some-
times there may be an illustration of a finished item for inspira-
tion or even a couple of projects, but rarely is there a step-by-step
breakdown, complete with the exact size and lengths of materials
required and with full tying instructions; the complete recipe for
the very thing you want to make. Here, I hope, is the book which
does just that.
Not having enough cordage is a constant risk. You try
remembering how much line went into an item you have made
in the past, but it is soon forgotten and you are back to guessing,
hoping that you have guessed correctly or with a bit to spare.
Then comes the day when you have a length of good old rope
and you want to make a mat with it; the length is tight – if only
you knew the exact amount needed. Or you have 6 metres of
super fine tarred 3mm twine left. Will this be enough for that
bell rope you wanted to make as a special gift, or having started
will it be too short and the 6 metres wasted? The wasting of
rope, new or old, is something that any owner, skipper, mate,
bosun or craftsman abhors. Cordage is a precious material to be
valued, treasured and conserved.
After many years of guesswork and the occasional note in the
margins of my knotting books, I belatedly started to keep a
‘Recipe Book’ in 1977. This told me the finished size of the item
I had made, what material I had used, and how much was
needed to make it. I added the special little tricks and hints that
helped the item to fall right and to be finished neatly. I sketched
the special knot that was needed or noted the book that had this
information. I have to confess that not everything got recorded
but over the years I have built up a great body of information.
In this book I share with you a selection of the designs from
that Recipe Book. When demonstrating, I am often asked how
4
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 5

INTRODUCTION

to make the various things that I have around me, so here are the
basic designs, their size and which knots and sennits are used to
make them. I give you a list of materials and their lengths and
sizes, and I have made the lengths very slightly generous because
all materials vary in the way they make up, and each craftsman’s
knotting tension differs. You may well wish to adjust the material
lengths to suit yourself and your favourite cordage. The stated
materials and knots will make what I describe, but it is always
possible to make items using bigger or smaller line. It can help to
keep a record of any variations, because the more information
you have the better your guesses will be in the future.
As this book is a Recipe Book rather than a-how-to-tie-knots
book (there is a good list of these at the end of this book), I have
simply named the knots and sennits that go to make up each
item. This in itself can lead to a degree of misunderstanding, as
many knots have more than one name, so in most cases there is
a simple aide-memoire for the more specialised knots or
techniques. Rather than repeating them every time they crop up
in a design, you will be referred to the page with the illustration.
These are my designs, the knots put together in the way I
prefer, but there is no reason why you should not mix and match
to create your own designs. Cordage is a versatile medium, and
a joy to use for creating all sorts of things.
The aim of this book is to give you the confidence to start
making things with knots; it is the book that will make other
knot books work for you.

HAPPY KNOTTING.

Des Pawson

Acknowledgements
My special thanks to Ann Norman who has turned all my scribbles
and bits of rope into such clear diagrams and enhanced the book
with her special illustrations. The book would be nothing without
them. She never once complained at my request for any
modifications or tweakings, being always happy to get things right.
Any error that may be found is my responsibility.
5
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 6

Some Tips of the Trade

of working with rope I have come across
D URING MY YEARS
pieces of information, special solutions, tools and tech-
niques from many sources that have in some way been of signif-
icant help or interest, and I would like to pass on as many of
these as I can.

TOOLS HEAVER
HEAVING MALLET When I was in Mariehamn, the
This sadly neglected tool is a rigger on the Pommern known as
great help in pulling tight ‘Little Brother’, showed me a
stubborn strands in a large rope heaver made from a piece of
splice, for tightening seizings, metal pipe with a slot at one end
and anywhere else that an extra and holes at the other. The
bit of pull is needed. It works strand, or line, is put in the slot
best with a heaving board to and a spike put through the hole;
pull/heave against. the tool is then turned like a key
to tighten the strand or line.

MARLINESPIKE
Look for a good long taper on
your marlinespike. I prefer a
rounded, flattened point.
As with all tools it is rare

6
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 7

SOME TIPS OF THE TRADE

Heaving board (with mallet)

that a brand new tool is perfect, that a better grip is obtained

so it is well worth the trouble to when working a knot tight with
smooth and adjust the shape to its tip.
your own ideal.
If you are going to use your LOOKING AFTER WOODEN FIDS
marlinespike aloft then ensure Fids are really only stretching
there is a hole so that you can fit tools; they are not levers. Many
a lanyard. a wooden fid has had its end
broken because it has been used
SWEDISH FID to lever open strands. If there is a
The tool that makes my living for need to lever, then use a steel
me is the Swedish fid, so called marline spike to open out the
because the original was patented strand first, before pushing the
by a Swede, A J Svenson, in 1953. fid well in – you can use a bit
It comes in a number of sizes. of tallow to ease the passage of
After any sharp edges have been the tool.
smoothed and the end nicely
rounded, it is a far better tool for LITTLE MARLINESPIKES
most work than the traditional These can be made from a 6 inch
wooden fid. When it is nail with a sharpened end and a
tucked into the rope or Turk’s head round its head. A
knot, it forms small sharpened metal meat
a channel for a skewer has been in my ditty bag
strand to pass since I was a boy. A screwdriver
along and the can also be shaped up for a
groove means makeshift marlinespike.

Left to right: Heaving mallet, Heaver, Fid, Marlinespike,

Swedish fid, Little marlinespike, Loop tool

7
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 8

SOME TIPS OF THE TRADE

6 INCH NAILS KNIVES

These are also good for pegging There is much debate about what
out such items as bowsprit nets makes a good knife and what
and scramble nets on the lawn. makes a good blade (will it keep a
good edge, for example?). Some
LOOP TOOLS people are totally against stainless
I have made up loop tools with steel, saying that it will never give
various lengths and gauges of a good edge.
bent piano wire, which can be The first thing to bear in mind
obtained from model shops. I is that different tasks require
have found that the wire centre different types of edge. You could
from morse cable controls will never cut a 48mm piece of
also work. Short loop tools are manila with a cut throat razor,
good for pulling the ends and if you tried you would ruin
through on small button knots, the razor forever. I differentiate
while long tools will be of help between the razor sharp edge I
for splicing braid on braid line put on my pocket knife and use
and for pulling through the for cutting and trimming small
lashing strands when making up stuff and the saw-like edge which
the cores for a button fender. I put on my bench knives for
cutting ropes and cables. I get the
SERVING STICK razor edge by sharpening it on a
A very good replacement for a softish fine stone, and the saw-
serving mallet or serving board is like edge by sharpening it with a
a narrow piece of wood in which very coarse stone or a steel.
a series of holes is drilled. The As far as a lubricant for the
line is threaded through the stone is concerned (and of course
holes to give the required tension there must be a lubricant to stop
and the serving applied in the the pores of the stone clogging
normal manner. A very short up) I use water, but this can only
serving stick will enable you to be used if you start with a new
serve quite small eyes. piece of stone. If the stone has

Serving stick

8
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 9

SOME TIPS OF THE TRADE

already been used with oil, I use

Constrictor
paraffin with a touch of oil. I knot
believe that a knife will only hold
its edge for a long time if it is
never used, so a frequent tickle
on stone or steel, and not A
allowing the tool to get into too
bad a state, is by far the better
practice.
As far as the argument
between carbon and stainless
steel goes, it is worth remem-
bering that there are many B
variations of both. I have knives
in both materials that I find work
for me. Often these are just basic
utility knives, as used by butchers
or fishermen, but it should be
born in mind that at sea, salt
water soon ruins the best of PACKER’S KNOT
carbon steel knives unless great Based on the figure of eight this
care is taken to keep them dry knot works well when making up
and clean. such things as fender bases, as
the more you pull the tighter it
grips. It can be locked with a half
KNOTS hitch, to make it secure.
Some knots are almost tools in
themselves.

CONSTRICTOR KNOT
Works well as a temporary
seizing, holding together the end
of a rope, a bundle of lines
before making a button knot,
building the core of a fender and
many other examples. When
pulled really tight you may have
to cut it to remove it. However,
when you understand the
structure of the knot it is possible Packer’s knot
to untie in many circumstances
with the help of a fid or spike.

9
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 10

SOME TIPS OF THE TRADE

MARLINESPIKE HITCH
The best way of pulling fine line
A
extra tight without cutting your
fingers. The direction of pull is
important; if you make the
knot in the wrong direction or
pull in the wrong direction the
hitch slips.

BUNDLES
When working with long lengths
of line it is helpful to make them
up into bundles. There are many
B ways of doing this, but just
wrapping the line round your
hand and holding the bundle in
place with a rubber band works
as well as anything. You should
start the wrapping near the work
and hank round your hand till
you get to the end; with a bit of
luck the line can be pulled out
from the centre of the bundle as
you work. If things start to get
C
into a mess sort them out and
re-hank before you have a
completely knotted mess of a
bundle.

GUNK, GOOS, TAR, ETC

TALLOW
A touch of tallow on your fid or
spike is a great help. It only
D needs a little. You can make your
own tallow by saving the fat from
your roast beef or lamb (pork is
no good). Put the congealed fat
into some water, boil it up and
when it has cooled and gone
hard, skim it from the top.
Repeat once more and this
should remove most of the
Marlinespike hitch impurities. You will also find

10
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 11

SOME TIPS OF THE TRADE

that tallow will help clean your The purpose of any rigging mix is
hands of Stockholm tar. A blob to protect the rope and wire from
rubbed into the hand then wiped moisture. Some people paint
off onto a cloth will get rid of seizings and servings in a
most, and then soap and water contrasting colour as a decorative
should do the rest. feature.

LINSEED OIL STOCKHOLM TAR

This is good for ‘feeding’ wood This can still be obtained from
and, mixed with Stockholm tar, tack shops and veterinary sources
can be the base for a treatment where it is still used on the
for rigging. It is worth knowing hooves of animals.
that there are two types of linseed
oil, boiled and raw. The boiled PAINTS AND VARNISHES FOR
oil will go off and harden almost DECORATIVE WORK
like paint. ‘Raw oil soaks right in, In the old days, when only
boiled oil forms a skin.’ natural materials were used,
everything had to be protected
RIGGING MIXTURES from the weather. The quality of
I do not think that rigging mixes the materials may not always
are particularly scientific. Use a have been the best, so paint was
mixture of perhaps 2 to 1 of used both to protect and
Stockholm tar to boiled linseed highlight decorative knots, and
oil, with a touch of dryers if whole bell ropes would be
possible to help it go off. If the tar painted. Ropework on tillers
is very thick and you want it to would have been varnished.
penetrate into fibres or right into If you use natural materials
the core of the wire you may wish today it is worth remembering
to add some real turpentine to the this, and you may wish to treat
mixture. There is no need to add your ropework in the same way. If
the whiskey described in the you have the time and inclination
recipe given in Brady’s Kedge you can do the same on any
Anchor 1849: synthetic lines used. Take care, as
varnishes change the colour of
‘For blacking ship’s standing materials quite dramatically. Many
rigging: To half a barrel of tar yacht varnishes will make
add 6 gallons of whiskey, 4 a flax or hemp line go very
pounds of litharge, 4 pounds dark brown, like a tarred line, and
of lamp black, 2 buckets of will turn a white line a golden
boiling beef pickle or hot salt colour. I have found that some of
water out of the coppers, if the the varnishes based on either
other cannot be had con- acrylic or PVA (which allow the
veniently. Mix well together brushes to be cleaned in water and
and apply immediately.’ are sometimes sold as ‘low odour’)

11
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 12

SOME TIPS OF THE TRADE

only slightly darken the work. Do CORDAGE

some tests first to avoid ruining The right kind of rope for the
your work. right job will make all the
difference both to the making
MELTED ENDS OF SYNTHETIC ROPE and the finished product. I do
Do not make great blobs of not come from the school that
melted plastic on the ends of says that natural fibres are best.
your lines; they will crack and, I think that you should use the
when running through your appropriate rope for the job. It’s
hands, can do great damage. worth the trouble searching for
If you do decide to melt the the best materials and usually
ends, do so in a minimal worth paying extra for quality, be
manner, taking care to smooth it in natural or synthetic
the end with wetted fingers. material. Good natural materials
Polypropylene has a fairly low have a certain feel that is
melt point and is not too much rewarding and can give the item
of a problem if a quick heat is you’ve made the appearance of
applied, but nylon and polyester coming from the past. But
have much higher melt points natural materials will rot quite
and can burn your fingers very easily and a fine job can soon
easily. TAKE CARE. look very tatty, thus wasting a
great deal of work.
MEASURING ROPE It is worth exploring the
In the past rope was measured by various imitation natural
its circumference rather than its materials that are available for
diameter, and you can see why jobs that are subject to rot, but
when trying to measure a large even they are not going to last for
rope. In the UK and Europe ever. I like to use a material that is
today rope is measured by its fairly firm and gives good
diameter in millimetres. As a definition to any knots that are
rough guide you can convert tied in it. If you are splicing it is
from one to the other by saying helpful that the strand itself holds
that the circumference in eighths its twist, but you do not need the
of inches is equal to the diameter lay to be so hard as to start to
in millimetres. It is well worth cockle and distort as you splice.
noting that today in the United I give some idea as to the sort
States rope is sold by its diameter of material to be used in each of
in inches, but for over 2 inches in the projects but you may have to
diameter measurements change adapt to those materials that you
over to circumference. Wire rope can find. This is nothing new,
has always been sold by its sailors doing fancy knot work 150
diameter, even in the UK. years ago would have had to make
do with whatever they could lay
their hands on. The source for

12
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 13

SOME TIPS OF THE TRADE

fine materials can be difficult be able to put you on to a good

and you may need to use a source. Fisherman’s stores and
number of places to get a variety cooperatives may also have a
of materials. Look in Yellow good range of interesting
Pages under ropes and twines. materials. Sailmakers and riggers
Some of the companies will only may well sell you short lengths of
supply in bulk but it may be rope and the odd ball of small
worth visiting them if they have stuff. Then there are also a few
the sort of materials you are specialist mail order suppliers
looking for. Actual rope (see appendices). Keep your eyes
manufacturers normally only open when travelling and buy
supply in bulk with high when you see the kind of
minimum orders, but if you have materials that you like, laying
some big projects it may be worth down like fine wine, the best of
a chat; they can always put you twines and cord for that special
on to one of their stockists. project. Just keep your cordage
Farming supply shops or yacht dry, dust free and away from
chandlers can also be a good insects or other pests and you will
source as, although they may not bless the day that you bought
have natural materials, they may those special items.

13
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 14

Simple Key Ring

single and then the doubled

T HIS COMBINATION OF THE
boatswain’s whistle lanyard knot has a simple beauty. I must
have made tens of thousands over the years and I am still satis-
fied each time I make one. As well as being used as a key ring
decoration or identifier, it works very well as a shackle release, or
a zip pull, although you may then prefer to make it in 2mm line.
With the addition of the appropriate fitting, a pair will make
pretty earrings, green and red will give you port and starboard.
Use 3mm for the big earring look, 2mm for a fine look, and if
you really want to struggle, work with even smaller line. At the
other end of the scale, tied in something like 6mm line, you will
have a basic bell rope. You could also make a couple of the sin-
gle knots before the double to make it longer.
I like the name ‘boatswain’s whistle lanyard knot’, but this
self-same knot can be known by a number of other names: the
two-strand diamond knot or sailor’s lanyard knot. Whatever
name you use this knot is closely related to the Chinese button
knot, said to be the most tied knot in the world; you might
believe it when you think of all those Chinese jackets with their
knotted buttons.
14
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 15

SIMPLE KEY RING

MATERIALS 800mm of 3mm line of your choice

25 or 30mm diameter split ring or key ring

KNOTS USED Boatswain’s whistle lanyard knot: diagrams a and b

Double boatswain’s whistle lanyard knot: diagrams
a and c

METHOD

Fold the line in half, and holding C

the bight make the single
version of the boatswain’s whistle
lanyard knot (a and b). Tighten so
as to leave just a small loop for the
split ring, then make a second
knot, but this time double it (a, c
and d). Work it up tight, leaving a
small space between the single
and double knots. Trim the ends This shows the path to double half the
with a knife and fit the split ring. knot using one end, then the other.

Start of boatswain’s whistle

lanyard knot

B Finish the doubling by following round and

tucking up through the centre.

If you are using this as a zip pull,

use either a smaller split ring
(really small stainless steel split
rings can be purchased from an
angler’s supply shop), or start by
threading the line through the
Boatswain’s whistle lanyard knot hole in the zip tag.

15
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 16

Shackle Release Lanyard

in Portuguese Sennit

this simple but practical lanyard for use

Itheastwoa pullsetsrelease
WAS ASKED TO COPY
on certain types of shackles. Notice that after
of movements the two ends form a reef or square
knot. Another name for this sennit is square knotting, and yet
another is Solomon’s Bar. It is the basis of all macramé or, as
some sailors used to say, ‘McNamara’s lace’. Look out for the
belt on page 67.
If just one step is repeated, without the second reverse step, a
twist develops in this sennit. That’s fine if it’s what you want,
but you should be the one who decides.
Tied in 3 or 2mm line and fitted to a split ring, this will also
make a fine simple key fob, or zip pull.
If you start with one strand tied round the bight of a second,
giving 4 ends after you have made your Portuguese sennit, the
ends could be finished with a lanyard knot (page 99) that will
act as a button to make a bracelet.
16
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 17

SHACKLE RELEASE LANYARD IN PORTUGUESE SENNIT

MATERIALS 1m of 3mm braided synthetic line

KNOTS USED Portuguese sennit flat: diagrams a and b

Portuguese sennit spiral: diagram c

METHOD

Middle the line and hold B

together about 100mm from the
bight. You can do this with your
fingers or use a fine piece of
twine to make a temporary
seizing.

Flat Portuguese sennit

Start the Portuguese sennit

(decide whether you want it flat
or spiral) and continue until
you have about a 40mm loop
left. The ends can either be
trimmed off close and melted to
stop them coming undone
(mind your fingers) or pulled
back inside the sennit alongside
the core using a loop of wire or
fine line. Spiral Portuguese sennit

17
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 18

Deluxe Key Ring

, this was first put together by

R EALLY A MINIATURE BELLROPE
my wife Liz. Tied in 3mm as shown it is very handsome, the
star knot being one of the world’s almost perfect decorative
knots which is not too difficult to tie if you take it one stage at
a time. I find it a little bit fiddly to make in 2mm or smaller, but
it still looks great.
By making the body longer and perhaps using 4mm line
you’ll have a simple bellrope that will draw admiring remarks
from all.

MATERIALS 3 x 1 metre of 3mm line

1 x 25mm or 30mm split ring

18
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 19

DELUXE KEY RING

KNOTS USED 3 strand plait (just like a hair plait)

A temporary seizing, probably a constrictor knot:
page 9
3 strand diamond knot or crown and wall knots
tied in pairs: diagrams a and b
Alternate crown sennit 3 and 3: diagram c
6 strand star knot: page 21
Double crown finish: page 22

METHOD B
Seize the 3 lengths of line
together just off-centre and
make a short length of 3 strand
plait. Fold over and temporarily
seize together to make a loop. Tuck all ends
Undo any spare plait, arrange up the middle
the 6 ends into 3 sets of 2, and as indicated
make the diamond knot (crown
and wall) with these pairs. Work
tight up to the loop and remove down through the centre. This
the temporary seizing. little button on the end is called
a doubled crown (see page 22)
Finish by trimming the ends
A close to the base of the star knot.
(If you want to use 4mm to
make a 150mm bellrope you will
need 3 x 2m.)

C
Crown knot
followed by
wall knot

With every alternate strand

make a crown knot, then crown
with the remaining 3 strands.
Keep this up until you have
about a 40mm length of 3+3
crown sennit, then tie the 6
strand star knot (page 21). Work Alternate
crown sennit
tight and finish with a 6 strand
crown knot, pulling the ends

19
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 20

Bellrope Worked
with 6 Ends

commercial bellrope I created, and I am still

T HIS IS THE FIRST
making it today. I needed money to get married, so to aug-
ment my income by making a few bellropes, I made up a couple
of samples in some 2mm nylon and took them to the prestigious
yacht chandlers in the West End of London, Captain O M
Watts. Their buyer looked at my samples, said that they were far
too thin, but went on to describe the sort of thing he might be
interested in. I went away and made up this design using 3mm
cord. That first one took about 11/2 hours to make.
This time the buyer liked it, and said he would give me an
order. As he wrote down 3 in his order book I thought, ‘Is that
all, after all this work!’ Then he wrote ‘dozen’! So, my first order
was for 36 bellropes each taking about 11/2 hours; my first
introduction to mass production. Practice certainly speeds up
the making of any item!
The first main knot, the Matthew Walker knot, is one of my
favourites, although it takes quite a bit of time to tie and form
into shape. You could, of course, replace it with a quicker knot
such as the diamond in pairs that I used at the start of the
deluxe key ring (page 19).
20
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 21

BELLROPE WORKED WITH 6 ENDS

MATERIALS 3 x 2 metre of 3mm line

KNOTS USED 3 strand plait (just like a hair plait)

A temporary seizing, probably a constrictor knot:
page 9
A Matthew Walker knot in 6 strands: like page 57
Alternate crown sennit 3 and 3: page 19
Diamond knot/crown and wall in 6 strands: like
page 19, 88
3 strand crown knot: like page 51
Crown sennit with 3 pairs: like page 25
Star knot with 6 strands: diagrams a, b and c
Double crown finish: diagram d

METHOD B
Start as you would for the deluxe
key ring. Seize the 3 lengths of
line together just off-centre and
make a short length of 3 strand
plait. Fold over and temporarily
seize together to make a loop.
Undo any spare plait, arrange
the 6 ends spread out neatly and
separately, and starting with a 6
strand wall knot, go on to make All strands need to be tucked as shown
a 6 strand Matthew Walker
(page 57).
Work tight up to the loop and
remove the temporary seizing.
A
Now make 45mm of 3+3 crown
sennit (page 19). Tie with 6
strands a diamond knot (crown
first then wall below), double
this knot, and work it tight and
even.
With every alternate strand
make a 3 strand crown knot,
tighten so that it beds down into
the centre of the diamond knot,
Star knot start then go on to make a series of

21
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 22

BELLROPE WORKED WITH 6 ENDS

C knot. If you prefer to finish with

a tassel stop at the star knot, just
fray out the ends and trim to
length; dunk in very warm water,
to help get rid of the kinks in the
yarns.

Tuck all ends up the middle as indicated

crown knots with 3 pairs of line,

crowning always in the same
direction, until you have about
75mm of crown sennit in pairs.
Tie the 6 strand star knot, work
it tight and finish with a doubled
crown (diagram d), trimming the A crown knot doubled by pulling all ends
ends close to the base of the star down the middle as shown

22
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 23

Bellrope Worked
with 8 Ends

11 inch bellrope but you can make it longer or

Istyle.shorter,
CALL THIS OUR
add Turk’s heads and interweave colour to change its
Once you’ve got the hang of the 8 strand square sennit it
grows quite fast, so combined with the crown sennits it makes a
long bellrope fairly quickly. The first time it may take you 2-3
hours to complete . . . with a bit of luck!
I usually stop after the 8 strands crowned in pairs, but you
could add another section with the 8 strands crowned singly;
this will leave a space in the core of the sennit, so you will need
to put in some sort of filler, perhaps a bit of 4/5mm line if you
are using 3mm for your sennit. Sometimes I make up the end
globe knot and follow it round a second time, then introduce a
second coloured strand for the other two passes; this shows off
the complexity of the globe. With a 3 lead 5 bight or 4 lead 5
bight Turk’s head above in the same coloured line, it really
makes a deluxe bellrope. Use your imagination to try out all
sorts of combinations of the knots and sennits I’ve used here.
23
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 24

BELLROPE WORKED WITH 8 ENDS

MATERIALS 4 x 3 metres of 3mm line for the basic bellrope

1 x wooden ball about 36mm in diameter
Extra lengths of 3mm of a differing colour for
Turk’s heads or interweaving of the globe knot end

KNOTS USED 4 strand round sennit: page 50

Diamond knot with 4 pairs: like page 19
8 strand square sennit: diagrams a and b
Diamond knot/crown and wall with 8 strands: like
pages 19, 88
Alternate crown sennit 4 and 4: like page 19
Star knot with 8 strands: like page 21
Crown sennit with 4 pairs: diagram c
8 strand globe knot ball covering: diagrams d and e
Optional Turk’s heads decoration if required 3 lead
5 bight: page 28

METHOD A
Start as the deluxe keyring (page
18) but this time make the loop
(page 50) using 4 strand round
sennit and the diamond knot
with 4 pairs of line (page 19).
Then make about 55mm of 8
strand square sennit, apply a
temporary seizing and make an 8
strand diamond knot (pages 19,
88), then follow it round to
double it. Then follows 55mm
of alternate 4+4 crown sennit
(similar to the 3+3 on page 21
but a little harder to get to sit B
G
C
well), an 8 strand star knot D E F
(similar to the 6 strand on page
21), then 60mm of 4 strand H A
crown sennit with pairs. Finally,
make a handsome globe knot by Start with 3 strands on one side and
starting with an 8 strand wall 5 strands on the other. First take A
knot followed by the complex across front then take H across front
crown on top. Tuck each end

24
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 25

BELLROPE WORKED WITH 8 ENDS

B D

The fancy 8 strand crown shown on

top of the 8 strand wall knot

CD This globe knot takes a

E F minimum of 550 mm of line so
A
H make sure that the shortest of
your 8 strands is at least this long
G B before you start. If you wish, add
….Do the same behind, take B across, extra coloured Turk’s heads at
then G across any place on the bellrope.

Fancy crown
down, going over and under, put E
the wooden ball in the middle
and follow the whole knot round
3 more times.
Extra
tuck
C

8 strand
wall knot

Extra tucks after the fancy 8 strand

crown on top of 8 strand wall makes
the globe knot

Crown sennit in pairs

25
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 26

A Simple Side Fender

‘Any piece of cable that is cut off, most commonly any part of
an old cable, is called a junk. Such as this they hang for fenders
by the ships sides.’

Sir Henry Mainwaring in 1623 in his Seaman’s

S O WROTE
Dictionary, the earliest Nautical Dictionary in English. Today
it is still a good way to make a beefy side fender for a barge or
tug, I have made them using old ships mooring cables, and off-
cuts of heavy coir from wrap-round fenders. The cable may be
just stitched together with some line, but I prefer to either make
a proper seizing or even better, if I have the time, to make two
or three Turk’s heads round the cables thereby giving these sim-
plest of fenders that proper seaman’s look. I think that 3 or 4
hanging over the side can really look quite smart and not cost a
great deal.
If you use your imagination, the same idea can be developed
to make a fender with lanyard at each end, so it can be hung
lengthways to protect the leeboard on a barge.
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KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 27

A SIMPLE SIDE FENDER

MATERIALS For this type of fender you can use whatever rope is
to hand, but here are the requirements for a couple
of basic variations.

A 2 x 2m of 60mm square plait old ships’ mooring

cable
3 x 8m of 12mm polypropylene for the seizings
1 x 3m of 14mm polypropylene for the lanyard
B 1 x 2m of 96mm (actual diameter) coir
3 x 7.5m 14mm manila for the Turk’s head
1 x 3m of 14mm manila for the lanyard

KNOTS USED Constrictor knot: page 11

Flat seizing: diagrams a, b and c
Or 3 lead 5 bight Turk’s head: diagrams d, e and f

METHOD
ideally, that rarest of beasts, the
Fold both pieces of the heavy rigger’s screw. If you are using 2
cable in half, making the bend pieces of cable put the 2 pieces
as tight as possible by giving it a together with the bends at the
good beating with a heavy same end. Hold the folded rope
mallet. If you are using very or ropes in place with a couple
heavy coir you will find that it is turns of a temporary binding of
much harder than ships cable to some sort, my favourite is a
bend; you may well have to constrictor knot, as you can pull
resort to a Spanish windlass or, the ends and the whole thing

A B C

Flat seizing

27
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 28

A SIMPLE SIDE FENDER

cranks up nice and tight. Now E

put on the permanent seizing of
7 or 8 turns. I start with a
constrictor knot round either all
strands or, for very heavy rope, a
constrictor round one strand.
Pull very tight on each turn;
finish off with a couple of
frapping turns and lock in place
as in the diagram.
Stage 2 of the 3 lead 5 bight
Alternatively, 3 lead 5 bight Turk’s head
Turk’s heads followed round 3
times will serve a similar purpose a very coarse stone with water as
and look even more handsome. a lubricant to sharpen my
It will help to first practice tying favourite knife. For the very
the Turk’s head round your heaviest of ship’s cable I some-
fingers. You can use your thumb times even resort to a hacksaw to
to hold the turns in place. You get through the rope.
are making a 3 strand con- After the end has been
tinuous plait or sennit. trimmed, all that remains is for
When all the seizings or the lanyard to be fitted with a
Turk’s heads are in place trim splice through the top loop, whip
the bottom; you will need to or back splice the inboard end of
sharpen your knife a few times to the lanyard, and hang over the
get through this heavy rope, I use side to protect your craft.

D F

The start of the 3 lead 5 bight The beginning of doubling the 3

Turk’s head lead 5 bight Turk’s head

28
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 29

Side Fender Using the

Crown Sennit

of making a side fender, all using the

T HERE ARE MANY WAYS
crown sennit, put together in various ways. This is the way I
usually do it.
On board ship, worn out old rope would have been used,
whereas shore-based fendermakers would have used new
material, certainly on the outside. Coir has always been one of
the preferred materials for salt water craft, as it is light (it floats),
is fairly resistant to rot in salt water, and for its size is not
expensive. If you are making the fender for yourself you can use
any old rope that you can get your hands on. Leonard Popple in
his book Advanced Ropework recommends making a miniature
before commencing a full size fender. This both allows you to
see how it all goes together and saves the waste of rope. You
could always make a giant keyring out of your miniature.
Sometimes people get a little confused between the crown
knot and the wall knot (pages 30–31). One is the upside down
version of the other, so it rather depends on how you look at it
when you are making the knots. I start work with the top of the
fender between my knees and work upwards, so this is the view
from which I name the knots. The Swedish fid with its hollow
allows the final splicing back to be done both neatly and
29
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 30

S I D E F E N D E R U S I N G T H E C ROW N S E N N I T

speedily (I find that a little dab of tallow on the spike

dramatically eases the amount of push required).
I have given the amounts of materials needed for a range of
sizes. Much bigger fenders can be made by starting with 2
lengths of rope giving 12 strands. A bigger core will of course be
needed, and the end crown can be made with pairs of strands.

MATERIALS All fenders need 3-4m of tarred marline or similar

to make the seizing at the start
200mm long x 100mm diameter fender: 2m of
24mm coir (no core)
250mm long x 100mm diameter fender: 2.5m of
24mm coir (no core)
250mm long x 125mm diameter fender: 2.7m of
28mm coir (plus scrap for core)
350mm long x 125mm diameter fender: 4m of
28mm coir (plus scrap for core)
Note that coir rope tends to be bigger than its stated size, so if
you are using other materials they need to be a little bigger than
above, or make the core a little bigger, or be content with a slightly
smaller fender.

KNOTS USED Flat seizing: page 27

6 strand wall knot: diagram a
6 strand crown knot: diagram b
Special 6 strand crown: diagram c
Splicing: diagram d

METHOD A
For a 200mm x 100mm fender
It is a good idea to make a fender
without a core to start with; it
gives you one less thing to worry
about. Fold the rope in half and
put a flat seizing round the
bight, to make the eye at the top
of the fender. Put either tape or
a temporary whipping on each 6 strand wall knot

30
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 31

S I D E F E N D E R U S I N G T H E C ROW N S E N N I T

B shoulder has been reached, tuck

the ends under the wall knot and
out right next to the seizing
(diagram d). Trim the ends and
roll under the foot to give the
fender a good round shape.
For bigger sizes use a core
made up from either 6 or 7 rope
strands from the same size rope
that you are using for the fender.
Once you get going you can use
6 strand crown sennit the offcuts from previous
fenders. The core is pushed into
of the 6 rope strand ends and the hole in the centre of the first
unlay the rope, giving 6 strands to crown knot and held in place
work with. Make a 6 strand wall by the subsequent rows of
knot with these ends (diagram a) crowning. Trim before making
as this gives the fender a sort of the complex crown at the end.
shoulder, then make a series of Splice on a lanyard and hang
crown knots on top of each other; over the side of your vessel.
(diagram b) this series of crown • Make 8 rows of crowns for the
knots is called a crown sennit, or 250mm x 100mm fender
sometimes just crowning. When • 6 rows of crowns for the
you have made 6 rows of crown 250mm x 125mm fender
knots , tie the complex 6 stranded • 10 rows of crowns for the
crown shown (diagram c). Turn 350mm x 125mm fender
the fender round and splice the
strands back up the outside of the
fender to the shoulder. (I find it D
best to make one complete row
of tucks at a time.) When the

All strands need to be spliced back

The fancy 6 strand crown as shown

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KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 32

Hitching Over a
Plastic Fender

of a core of some kind and a

M OST ROPE FENDERS CONSIST
needle-hitched cover. Needle hitching or half hitching as
it is sometimes called, is a very versatile covering technique. It
can be done using almost any size of material from 1mm up to
24mm diameter. It is found all over the world covering all sorts
of things from tassel heads to clay pots, fenders and knife han-
dles. It has one disadvantage in that it is rather time consuming.
So when you start using this technique do not be disappointed
at your rate of progress; it does need time and patience. It can
take about an hour to use up about 10m of 10 or 12mm line. Be
warned, it can be rather addictive; there is a tendency to ‘just do
a bit more’.
Covering a small sausage-shaped plastic fender is a good way
to learn the technique, and it’s a good way to finish up with a
traditional looking fender without the extra time and trouble
of making up the core. You could of course make up a bundle
32
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 33

HITCHING OVER A PLAS TIC FENDER

of old rope with a loop at one or both ends and cover that in
exactly the same way. Building up on a plastic fender base is a
good idea for larger fenders, as the core will be nearly all air
and the finished fender a lot lighter than if a bundle of old
rope had been used.

MATERIALS
The hitching of the cover depends so much on the size of the rope
and the size of the fender, and on how tight and close the hitches
are, that it is only possible to give a very rough guide of the quantity
of rope needed. I reckon that about 160m of 10mm or 12mm rope
will give about a square metre of cover. If you can keep track of the
material you use you will get a closer picture for yourself, but you
will still have surprises. It always seems to take more material and
more time than I estimate!
This means that, to cover a 400mm x 125mm diameter sausage
shape fender, you need about 24-26m of 10mm 3 strand rope.
A 600mm x 200mm diameter sausage fender needs about 55–60m
of 10mm 3 strand rope. This can either be a natural material like
sisal, manila or hemp, or a synthetic, but try not to have a too hard-
laid (stiff) rope as this makes it more difficult to get the hitches to
pull tight and bed down.
It is possible to use braided rope or the strand from a bigger rope
but you are then restricted in your method of joining in new ends.

KNOTS USED Half hitch

Long splice if you prefer to make a spliced join in
the rope, but see method

METHOD
Cut 20m of line and tape the length takes forever to pull
ends into 100mm long points. through. Start hitching from the
Put the rope round the middle centre, putting the first row of
of the fender, and adjust to give about 14 hitches for the 125mm
two equal ends of 10m. A 10m diameter fender or about 22
length is probably the most hitches for the 200mm diameter
efficient length; if shorter there fender. Space these evenly round
are too many joins and a longer one side, then pull the other end

33
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 34

HITCHING OVER A PLAS TIC FENDER

A Start

B Hitching both ways

How to reduce
hitches

How to increase
hitches

tight before locking everything place of the old short end which
in place by hitching round the can then be covered by
second side. Carry on hitching subsequent rows. Carry on
out from the middle, trying to hitching to the end. As the
keep the starting point from fender tapers away it’s possible to
slipping away from the centre of shape the cover by dropping
the fender. every second or third hitch,
When the two sides have used finally burying the end back
up almost all the rope, assess under a couple of rows of
how much of the fender has hitching. By seeing how much
been covered and therefore how line was used on the first end
much more rope will be needed you may be able to have a
to cover the rest of that side, and slightly shorter end on the
make a note of what you think second half, but do not cut too
you will need. short or you may need to join in
This new rope will need to be yet another short end.
joined in. This can be done in a If you want to cover a teardrop
couple of ways, either with a long shaped fender, it is possible to
splice, leaving the tails to start at the narrow end and
be trimmed off later, or by gradually increase the number of
bringing the new rope from hitches by making two hitches in
under a couple of the previous a space instead of the usual
rows and out of the hitch in single hitch.

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Bow Fender

bow fender can vary enormously. Whatever

T HE SCALE OF THE
the scale, the basic method of construction is the same; there
are 2 basic components, the core and the cover. The core takes all
the punishment and in many ways it is the fender. The cover is
there to protect the core and should look good. Much of the beau-
ty of a bow fender depends on its shape, ie the shape of the core,
so it is essential that plenty of care be taken when building this
up. There should be no lumps or bumps. It can help to finish
with a layer of sacking to give a smooth base over which the hitch-
ing will go. The 2 side pieces, or ‘legs’, should be symmetrical.
At the heart of the core is a ‘backbone’ rope or chain. For all
but the smallest fenders I prefer a chain, but some people use a
heavy wire rope and for a light job a backbone of rope will be
fine. If you do use rope, use a synthetic material that will not rot
before the fender cover has worn out. Fitted to the backbone
can be 1, 2 or more short tails that will help to hold the fender
up at the bow. It is always disappointing to see a bow fender
drooping down; I like to see it tight up and square but
occasionally this has to be sacrificed when the fender is needed
lower down the stem and there are no appropriate fittings to
make the legs fast to.
35
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 36

BOW F E N D E R

Half hitching (page 34) is the most versatile method to cover the
core. The size of the rope used for this will vary but should be
in proportion to the finished fender; 6mm may be fine for a
delicate job for a skiff, but 12 or 14mm for a work boat of 10-
15m length with 20-24mm for the largest tug fender. The type
of rope used depends on taste and material available: 3 strand
rope means that you may long-splice lengths together and it can
be either natural or synthetic fibre. Natural fibre rope such as
manila or sisal, or even hemp, is likely to rot after a few years,
especially if the fender is left on all year round. This decay can
be slowed down by painting or dunking the fender from time to
time in some form of preservative; be it clear Cuprinol, creosote,
thinned down tar or even old sump oil! It rather depends on
how you want the fender to look and how happy you will be to
make another one.
Polypropylene is a low cost synthetic rope that many people
use, I quite like the staplespun polypropylene (the slightly hairy
looking one), which is a fair compromise in the cost/look/life
stakes. I have seen some handsome fenders in black
polypropylene. There are a number of synthetic hemp look-
alikes, which give a near traditional look, but it is worth
checking how resistant they are to UV breakdown, as some are
better than others. Nylon or polyester will last the longest but
they are often hard laid which makes hitching hard work, also
they are the most expensive and do have a tendency to look a
little modern. A lot of rope is needed and it will take you a lot
of time to hitch the cover, but on the other hand I hope you will
get pleasure from making the fender.
With all the work of hitching the cover of the fender, you may
wish to add a Turk’s head at the centre to protect the hitching
at this vulnerable point, it is easier to replace than having to
remake part of the cover, and it certainly gives the fender
additional style!

36
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 37

BOW F E N D E R

MATERIALS
For the backbone of a fender between 1-2m overall: a piece of 6 or
8mm short or long link galvanised chain, 1 or 2 shackles and short
pieces of chain (optional) for central suspension points.
For the core: it is sensible to use old scrap rope, in all sizes from
6mm to 50mm, if you can get hold of it. I prefer to use synthetic
rope, as it doesn’t hold the water as much, and preferably polypropy-
lene, which is the lightest of the synthetics. It is useful to have all
sizes available, and you will use a surprisingly large amount.
For hitching of the cover: lengths of rope based on the guide figures
for covering a plastic fender (160m of 10-12mm for 1 square metre).
For a Turk’s head rubbing piece: rope of the same or a larger diame-
ter than you used to hitch the cover. A 4 lead 5 bight Turk’s head
(page 66) followed round 3 times will need approx 18-20 times the
circumference of the fender.

KNOTS USED Constrictor knots: page 9

Packers knots: page 9
Half hitches: page 34
4 lead 5 bight Turk’s head: like page 66

METHOD
Measure the chain to be used, there is also a call for a chain to
not forgetting that it will be in hold the fender in place down
the centre of the fender so it will below the fender.
need to be longer than the inner With the suspension chains
part of the fender, and allow an rigged, fit 4 thin ropes in the
extra 150mm each end for tails space formed by the interlinking
outside the fender. Mark the of the chain links. Tie these
middle of the chain. Rig the ropes in place using either a
chain backbone tight between series of constrictor knots or one
two swivels at about waist height. of the variations of packer’s
If there is a need for suspension knots. If you have it available,
chains fit them now with a wrap round the 4 ropes and
shackle either at the centre, if chain with more thin rope,
just one, or a few inches either starting at the middle and
side of the centre if you use 2 working out, being sure to treat
suspension chains. A really long both sides equally. Unless the
fender may have 4 or even 6 fender is to finish up almost
suspension chains. Occasionally straight, remove the wrapped

37
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BOW F E N D E R

Building the core of the fender, shown straight,

but could be bent to shape for the later stages if required.

chain from between the swivels The finished core needs to be

and bend it to the approximate about 100-150mm less in
curve of the finished fender. Put circumference than the finished
one long heavy rope to the front fender size. It is important to get
of the chain, probably going the size and shape right before
almost the entire length of the putting on it’s jacket.
backbone. Put shorter pieces When you are satisfied with
above, below and behind the the form and shape of the
backbone to build up the shape fender, I find that it helps to
of fender you are aiming at. cover the whole thing with
There will always be a little sacking of some sort, to give a
flexibility, but the nearer the smooth final finish to hitch over.
correct shape the better. Tie these I use hessian, jute, burlap or sisal
tightly to the backbone. It is then sacking if the cover is to be
worth tapering the ends so that natural and the woven white or
there are not too many steps cream polypropylene sacking if
where each rope ends. Add extra the cover is to be a synthetic
rope as required to get the shape rope. Ideally the colour of
and size (thinner ropes give a sacking is somewhere near the
smoother shape), stagger the ends colour of the rope to be used.
and keep the shape symmetrical. This cover is best sewn in place

38
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BOW F E N D E R

using a packing needle, working of rope on one leg, then change

out from the middle and getting and work on the other. When
the cover tight over the core. both sides meet at the centre
Some people prefer to wrap the there will be a gap. Hitch round
whole fender core with adhesive the gap in a circle dropping
tape. hitches as needed until it is
You are now ready to cover completely filled in.
the core. You can start in the When you have finished
middle and work to the ends, hitching the cover (well done!),
which is fine if the fender is you could add a Turk’s head in
almost straight, but if it is curved heavier rope round the middle as
I find it best to start at each end extra chafe protection. I favour a
and work to the middle. I 4 lead 5 bight Turk’s head as I
actually suspend the fender from feel it will sit evenly either side of
the leg end, then it is easy to the bow, but a 3 lead version will
work round and round adding do almost as well. I have worked
hitches as the fender grows in to the original 1930s specifi-
diameter by putting two hitches cation for a tug fender that had 5
side by side into the space of one Turk’s heads round it at various
hitch rather than the usual one. points; it certainly looked very
To aid symmetry, work a length handsome when it was finished.

39
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 40

Button Fender
And a few words on narrow boat fenders

on our canals have developed

T HE NARROW BOATS FOUND
their own special pieces of ropework. Working in and out of
so many locks the fenders evolved into a distinct style and shape.
On the bow is usually a button fender about 300mm diam and
about 200mm deep, usually with a hitched cover. This fender is
used to gently push open the lock gate. On the stern of the
motor ‘Butty’ there can be a long fat sausage shape fender, about
600–700mm long and about 250mm diam at the centre, taper-
ing off each side and called a tip cat. This protects the rudder
that sticks out behind the main hull. If one tip cat is not enough
then there can be a second tip cat or another button; there can
even be 2 tip cats and a button, a very handsome arrangement
when fitted properly with just a little upward tilt. Some boaters
prefer to have a single button, which may be a little longer
(300mm) than that used at the bow.
Side fenders tend to be rather on the long thin side (175mm
diam by 300–400mm long) because in many of the canals, there
is very little room between the boat and the side of the lock or
tunnel wall.
As with all fenders it is very important to make up a good,
solid, well shaped core. The tip cat is constructed very much like
40
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 41

BUTTON FENDER

the bow fender already described. The button requires a different

approach to the building of its core to ensure that it is solid and
stable enough to withstand the hard treatment it will receive.
When the button fender is first fitted, it’s a good idea to find
a quiet spot to very gently push square up against something, to
bed the fender in place before it is used in anger!

MATERIALS For a button fender 300mm diameter 200mm deep

Scrap rope for the core, preferably synthetic
1 x 1200mm of 6mm chain or 1 piece of 1200m
with a second 1200mm piece doubled and joined
to the middle of the first chain to give 2 top chains
32m of 12mm rope for the cover (natural or
synthetic as you wish)

KNOTS USED Packer’s knot: see page 9

Hitching: see page 34
Long splice (if this is your preferred method of
joining extra line when hitching): like page 70

METHOD
The core is basically just a solid pieces of synthetic cord about
coil of old rope 230mm diam by 3mm diam down the middle of
180mm high tied nice and tight. the pipe, bring their other ends
The problem is how to make down the side of the pipe and
and to tie your coil good and lay them out evenly round the
tight. I use a method explained base with their ends hanging
to me by Ike Argent, an old down the sides of the disc. Start
boater who was greatly respected wrapping the core material
for his well made fenders. A thin round the pipe keeping the thin
metal pipe of about 25mm diam lines in place. If your core
is held upright in a vice (a material is all the same diameter
workmate type bench works very you can build up your coil in a
well), sticking up through a disc series of flat discs, working out
of wood a little over the to the required size (230mm)
maximum diameter of the base then back in again. When the
you want to make. It helps if the disc is about half the height of
disc is marked with a number of the fender, place the chain or
concentric circles. Drop 3 or 4 chains in the middle and carry

41
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BUTTON FENDER

A B

Note: the ties go down the Coiling up the core and

centre of the pipe putting in the chains

on up to the top of the button skipping every third hitch for a

fender base (180mm). If you are whole row. Then make a full row
using a variety of material to skipping every fourth hitch, and
build up your core, you can wrap finally skip every other hitch until
it round the pipe to the height you reach the centre and finish by
(180mm) required and work burying the end, bringing it right
back down again to the base. out to the edge. Give the fender
This way you will have to put the another good beating with a
chain in the middle and wrap up mallet before finishing the other
and down round it until you side in the same manner.
reach the 230mm diam wanted. All that remains is to fit the
When the core is the right size, fender good and tight to the
pull out the cord ends that are boat. It is a good idea to saw
down inside the pipe and tie each through one of the links of the
end to its own other end with a chain so that, should a fender get
packers knot, giving a good heave caught in a lock, the chain gives
tight as you do. Remove the pipe, way before the boat ends up
bed the rope down with a few under the water.
blows with a mallet and apply
extra bindings to ensure the core
will hold together come what C
may. You may wish to cover this
base with some sacking, it
certainly helps to hitch over a
smooth surfaced core.
Put the middle of the cover
rope round the middle of the
fender core and start hitching out
each side. When you reach the
edge of the core, decrease by The core all finished and tied up

42
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 43

Rope ladders

rope ladders. Some ladders are

T HERE ARE LOTS OF STYLES OF
made entirely of rope, some have a round wooden rung, and
some, like the heavy pilot ladder, are made with flat steps held
in place with chocks and long spreader steps to stop the ladder
twisting. Most of these ladders require a lot of work with a great
deal of seizing in of the wooden ladder rungs.
A few of the simpler ways to make a rope ladder include using
a series of marlinespike hitches (page 10) round a wooden bar,
making very sure that you get the pull direction right. Frankly I
would not recommend this, as the bar could still slip out
sideways (there is a simple knotted all-rope ladder for very
occasional use that will do in an emergency).
The other method involves using a round wooden rung and
square or eight plait rope, also known as anchor plait, that
makes a much better and permanent job.
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KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 44

ROPE LADDERS

MATERIALS The length of rope required depends on the length

of ladder you are making. The measurements
given are for one rung, and the rope both sides
between that and the next rung. You need to
allow extra for rope at the top and any long tails
at the bottom of the ladder
For the all-rope ladder 1.3m of 12mm or 14mm
rope
For the ladder using square plait, 70cm of 14 or
16mm, together with as many round wooden
rungs as needed. These rungs are usually between
300mm and 400mm overall and between 25mm
diameter for the shorter and 32mm diameter for
the longer, made from a hard wood (Ash is ideal)

KNOTS USED The all-rope ladder uses a variation on the Bowline

called the ‘Boas Bowline’ (see a) and a form of the
sheet bend (see b)
The ladder using the square plait rope just uses the
structure of the rope to hold the rung in place

Make knot a before making knot b

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KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 45

ROPE LADDERS

METHOD
For the all-rope ladder, middle strain is put on it and so hold
the rope and on one side tie the the rung in place. To ease the
Boas Bowline (a), the loop rung into the rope, first open up
forming the first rung of the a bit of a hole and then use a
ladder. With the other side, tuck pilot spike with an open tube
the rope as shown (b) to make a end the size of the rung, or if you
sheet bend, adjusting the ‘rung’ are getting your rungs turned for
so that it is level. Reverse the you, it helps that the outer end is
arrangement between rungs to a short tapered or acorn shaped
get a balanced set of knots. point.
Rungs need to be no more than Again, space the rungs about
300mm apart. 300mm apart. I find it best to
Using the square plait, it is a stretch the rope doubled between
matter of working the ladder 2 fixed points, to give the 2 sides.
rung between the plait, to give 4 Put in the first rung both sides,
strands either side of the groove and then count down the same
in the rung. This is not so simple number of parts of plait each
and will be a tight fit. The rope side, keeping all twist out of the
will tighten up as soon as any rope, and put your next rung in.

Use a pilot spike to insert wooden rung

45
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 46

A Simple Lanyard

working aloft is bad news – at best a

A TOOL DROPPED WHEN
damaged deck, at worst serious injury to a fellow crew mem-
ber. If it falls over the side it’s gone forever and at sea there is no
local chandlery to take more of your hard-earned cash for a
replacement. The best and safest thing to do is to keep your tools
on a lead, then they cannot run away. Fit them with a lanyard!
Here is a simple lanyard with just a little decorative detail, that
goes round the neck and allows the knife or other tool to slip
into a pocket or sheath. Make the lanyard long enough so that
you can stretch your arm out fully, with a loop that will fit easily
over your head. It is possible to make the knots sliding so as to
adjust the loop, but a sliding knot on this kind of lanyard is not
a good idea. In fact it is a better idea to have a weak link between
tool and lanyard, as it is no good saving your tool at the expense
of strangling yourself. Made a little longer and adjustable, if you
wish, the whole lanyard can go right round the waist with a clasp
knife on its end that slips neatly into a pocket.
The same style of lanyard, perhaps with a whistle on its end,
can go round the shoulder and into the breast pocket of a
uniform. By using heavier rope, say 10mm with a clip fixed to the
smaller loop and making the other loop just big enough to put
your hand through, you will have a dog lead, or is it a dog lanyard?
46
KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 47

SIMPLE LANYARD

MATERIALS For a neck lanyard: 2m of 5mm 3 strand rope

For a dog lead: 2m of 10mm 3 strand rope and a clip

KNOTS USED Eye splice start: diagram a

Diamond knot/crown and wall doubled: diagram b

METHOD

Put a temporary seizing about making a diamond knot. Double

200mm from the end of the the diamond knot and then
rope, then unlay the 3 strands, treble if you like. Now repeat the
taping the ends so that they do same knot but this time make a
not come undone. Form a loop
of about 70mm and tuck the 3 B
strands as in the start of an eye
splice. Start of Crown knot
Now make a crown knot doubling
round the rope, followed by a
wall beneath the crown, thus

Wall knot

big (about 500mm) loop at the

other end. Check the fit of the
lanyard for yourself by holding
the little loop in your
outstretched hand, to get the
perfect length of neck loop
before making the splice start. If
you wish you could make an
The eye splice start extended diamond knot by

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KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 48

SIMPLE LANYARD

putting an extra tuck after watch out, it may be OK round

making the crown and the wall your waist or shoulder but not
(see page 50). round your neck.
By missing out the spliced If it is a dog lead/lanyard that
start and going straight to the you want to make, use 1.5-2m of
crown and wall round the rope, 10mm 3 strand rope and a clip.
your lanyard will slide, but as I Don’t forget to fit the clip before
have said before think first and making the small loop.

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KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 49

A Fancy Lanyard

, be it a hand-bearing compass, com-

F OR SOMETHING SPECIAL
pact camera, bosun’s call or special knife, it is good to have
a lanyard that will speak silently of the skills of its maker. Long
before there were certificates of competence for sailors, a man
would have been judged by those little displays of skill to be seen
in his knife lanyard or sea chest handles. Today many tradition-
al boat festivals operate a system of passes that are worn on a
piece of string round the neck. I first developed this lanyard to
wear my pass at the huge maritime festival held at Brest in 1992.
It is not often that I have time to make something for myself,
being busy making things for others; I made the ‘Brest lanyard’
on the ferry to France. It has served me well ever since and has
led to variations that can be used for other personal items. With
a short ‘tail’ it suits a sports teacher’s whistle or identity pass;
with a longer tail it would suit a rambler’s pocket compass. Make
the tail longer still and your knife should not go for a swim.

MATERIALS For a short tailed lanyard: 1 x 5m and 1 x 10m of

2mm line
For a long tailed lanyard: 1 x 6m and 12m of
2mm line
49
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
Eline smiled, a little frightened, and wiped away a tear from her
lashes; and Madame van Raat, who had also been listening, smiled
too.

“There, just see how beautiful those aces lie,” Ange went on. “No
fear, Mr. Erlevoort, no fear; ’tis all clearing up nicely.”

“The cards seem favourable,” whispered Madame van Raat.

Eline gave a little smile of contempt, but she felt a little upset; Black
Jack had reminded her of Fabrice.

The company had risen from the whist-table, and the conversation
became lively and general. The fortune-telling had given an impetus
to the gaiety all round, and Etienne was loud in his protestations to
Ange, who prophesied that he would be an old bachelor. Not he; he
declined with thanks.

Ange and Léonie persuaded Paul to sing something else, and Léonie
accompanied him in one of Massenet’s songs. In the [148]meantime
Betsy looked attentively at her sister and Otto, and thought she
could see that nothing had yet transpired between them. How Eline
did dilly-dally, to be sure! No; she had managed it better herself. She
had quietly accepted van Raat when he in his clumsiness had
proposed to her. What was Eline thinking about? why in Heaven’s
name shouldn’t she accept Erlevoort? They were quite cut out for
one another. And she worried herself about that sentimental
hesitation on the part of her sister, when she had the chance of
marrying into a good family, and a man in a fair position. Her eye
glanced coldly on Eline’s slender form, to which that hesitating
coyness lent an additional charm, and she remarked it, as she also
remarked the unwonted earnestness that seemed to be diffused
over her beauty. What a lot of to-do about such a simple matter! But
when she caught sight of her husband, who was talking to Otto, she
felt even more annoyed; how stupid he was, to be sure! Had he
really no notion as yet why Otto was there that evening?

Madame van Raat left later than she usually did, still feeling
uncertain in her mind about Eline’s decision. She had to some extent
anticipated a sort of family evening, and she felt decidedly
disappointed.

It was now long past twelve, and Madame Eekhof and her
daughters, together with Emilie, Vincent, and Paul, prepared to go,
the girls, amid much laughing banter, being conducted by Henk and
Etienne through the hall to their carriage. Betsy, Eline, and Otto
remained behind in the little boudoir, and the silence somewhat
embarrassed them. But Betsy purposely rose and walked into the
drawing-room towards the card-table, as though to gather up the
scattered counters. To Eline it seemed as if the ground was giving
way under her. She could not hide her confusion from Otto’s eyes,
and he, although he had had no intention that evening of reverting
to his request, did not feel himself strong enough to resist the
temptation of the moment, now that they were alone together.

“Eline,” he whispered, in a broken voice; “oh, must I leave you like

this?”

Almost in terror she gasped forth her pent-up breath in a trembling

sigh.

“Otto—really, truly—I—I cannot, not yet.”

“Adieu then; forgive me, pray, for having worried you a second
[149]time,” he said, and with that he lightly pressed her fingers and
went.
As for her, however, she felt herself suddenly relenting into a melting
tenderness. Trembling and shaking all over, she all but fell to the
floor, but she saved herself by rushing towards the door, where she
clung to the heavy draperies, and altogether yielding herself up to
her emotions, she cried—

“Otto! Otto!”

He could not repress a light cry. He quickly turned back and caught
her in his arms, and with his face all aglow with pleasure he led her
back into the boudoir.

“Eline, Eline!” he cried: “is it true?”

She made no reply, but flung herself sobbing on his bosom, her spirit
utterly broken with her inward struggles.

“You will—you will be my little wife, then?”

She just ventured to lift up her face, whilst she lay trembling in his
arms, her only reply being her tearful glance and her faint smile.

“Oh—Eline—my darling!” he whispered, and his lips pressed her

forehead.

Voices were heard in the drawing-room. Henk and Etienne were

coming out of the hall, Etienne carrying his overcoat and hat in his
hand.

“But where is Otto all this time?” Eline heard him exclaim, and she
could at the same time distinguish Betsy’s voice, who whispered
something.

Otto looked smilingly down upon the little weeping head, which,
suddenly alarmed, was pressed against his bosom.
“Come, shall we go, then?” he asked, and in his simplicity he
beamed with joy.

Slowly, very slowly, she let him lead her away, still sobbing in his
arms, her head hid on his shoulder. Betsy met them with a laugh,
and pressed Otto’s hand with a significant glance. Henk and Etienne
were somewhat surprised.

“Van Raat, may I—may I introduce you to my intended?” said Otto.

It was Henk’s turn to smile now, and Etienne’s, who opened his eyes
wide with amazement.

“There’s a sly old customer!” he cried, and held his finger up

threateningly. “Who would have expected that this evening, now?
what do you think of that?” [150]

Eline, however, still sobbing, relieved herself of Otto’s arm, and

clasped Henk round his neck. He kissed her, and his big voice
muttered kindly—

“Well, I will congratulate you, sissy, with all my heart. But the deuce!
come, don’t cry like that—what’s the idea of that now? Come, give
us a laugh now, for a change.”

In confusion she covered her face with her hands, and now Betsy
thought that it was her turn to give her a kiss, and she just touched
the dishevelled little locks.

“I am very satisfied with my little soirée, very satisfied!” she said

significantly.

Henk wanted Otto to stay a little longer, Etienne was discreet

enough to take himself off, but Eline whispered beseechingly that
she was very tired, and Otto did not insist. He was too happy to wish
for anything more; he would go, brimful of joy. And she thought it
very nice of him that he took leave only with a shake of the hand, as
she feared he would have kissed her before all of them.

The two brothers left, and Eline fled to her room, where she found
Mina, who was just lighting the lamp. The servant-maids had heard
the news from Gerard, who had come into the drawing-room at a
very inopportune moment, and Mina congratulated her, and looked
at her with an inquisitive smile about her lips.

“Thank you—thank you, Mina,” stammered Eline.

At last she was alone. She glanced in the mirror, and she started
when she saw the tearful pallor of her face. Yet it seemed to her as
though her soul glided away in a still, blue lake, that noiselessly
covered her with its waters, a spot where an eternal peace seemed
to reign, a Nirvana, the calm rapture of which was to her a new
happiness. [151]
[Contents]
 CHAPTER XVI.
It was a fresh, bright May day, after a week of rain and chill mists.
Jeanne had sent her children—Dora, Wim, and Fritsje—for a walk
with their nurse, to the Schevening Boschjes. She herself, however,
had stayed at home, as she was always much occupied, and she felt
lonely in her apartments, sitting there by herself, doing her knitting
and darning in a pale sunbeam which she, regardless of her carpet
and her curtains, allowed to stream freely into the room. Frans was
away in Amsterdam, where he had gone to consult a physician. It
was now half-past one, thought Jeanne, as she glanced at the
timepiece, the tick of which was heard very distinctly in the quiet
room. About half-past five Frans would return, and the time which
she had yet to wait seemed so many ages to her, although she
thought it splendid for once to be able to do such a lot of work
undisturbed.

The pale sunbeam fell right over her, but it did not trouble her; on
the contrary she basked in its faint warmth. The light shimmered
about her light-brown hair, and imparted to her sunken white cheeks
an alabaster transparency; it shimmered too over her thin, delicate
fingers, as with a steady, rhythmical motion she plied her needle.
And how she longed for the summer! oh, that May, with its damp
misty weather and its rare bright days, might soon be passed! how
could she have cherished any illusion of May being a month of spring
beauty, as the poets falsely said?

She smiled a little sadly as she bent over the chemisette she was
making, to press down a seam with her fingers; she smiled when
she reflected that every illusion, the smallest even, vanished into air,
while her life rolled on, and the future, which she feared with a
great, mysterious, unspeakable terror, continually faded away, to
make room for that gloomy, monotonous reality. And now—now she
shuddered, now once more that fearful presentiment rose up in her
soul, like a veiled spectre; something would happen to them, some
inevitable disaster would crush them. She took a deep breath,
shuddering, her hand pressed on her bosom; shuddering, not for
herself, not for him—but for the children.

She rose, it was impossible for her to continue her work, and yet she
must not be idle on the rare day when the children left her
undisturbed. Oh, why was she not stronger? And leaning [152]against
the window-sill she let herself be entirely covered by the ray of
sunshine, like a pale hot-house flower longing for light and air, and
she gazed, absorbed in her thoughts of what was to be, into the
little square patch of garden behind the grocery shop below. A lilac
was just budding into leaf, but in the centre or side beds nothing as
yet was growing, and before Jeanne’s eyes there suddenly arose a
vision of Persian roses, such as those that bloomed on their property
at Temanggoeng, big, like pink beakers, full of sweet odour. It was
as though she smelt that odour; it was as though the blushing tint of
those flowers dispelled the dull gray thoughts, and left in their place
merely a longing for warmth and love.

Thus she felt when the bell rang, and Mathilde van Ryssel entered.
They had met each other once or twice at the van Raats’, and they
were aware of a certain sympathy between them.

“I have really come with the evil intention of tempting you out for a
walk,” said Mathilde smiling. “It is glorious weather, and it will do you
good.”

“But, Tilly, the children are out, and Frans as well. Really I can’t, I
have work to do.”
“What insurmountable objects, to be sure!” laughed Mathilde. “You
need not take care of the house.”

“No; but when the children come home, and find me out——”

“Really, Jeanne, that is spoiling them; surely they can manage to do

without you for a moment. I should get my hat and jacket, if I were
you, and come out with me like a sensible girl. What! sewing, are
you? That’s work for a rainy day.”

Jeanne felt a gentle delight at having the law laid her by that soft
voice, which even in its banter was pervaded with a tone of sadness.
And she yielded, feeling so happy, and ascended the stairs to dress,
almost humming the while.

She was soon ready, and after numberless admonitions to Mietje,

left the house with Mathilde. The cool wind seemed to lift a mist
from her mind, while her pale checks became cold and almost got a
colour. She listened to her friend, who told her that she had just
taken Tina and Jo to the van Raats’; Betsy and Eline had asked them
to go for a walk with them and Ben.

“And the others?”

“Oh! Lientje and Nico had absolutely to go out with mamma;

[153]mamma was already in despair that she could not have the
other two. I should not have dared to take them with me,” she said
laughing. “Dear, kind mamma!”

They had passed through the Laan van Meerdervoort and reached
the Schevening road, which they followed. There were but few
people about. Mathilde let herself be carried away by her feelings,
and revived by the clear, fresh air, little talkative though she might
be generally in her reserve, and her silent grief.
“You don’t know how—how good mamma is,” she said. “She lives
only for her dear ones—for her children and her grandchildren. She
never has the slightest want of her own; whatever she thinks or
does, ’tis all for us. And I believe if you asked her which of us she
liked best, she could not tell you. Yes; she is mad with Etienne;
Etienne is always jolly, like a child, and because she too is cheerful
and likes a good laugh, his jokes do her good; but that she cares
equally for Frédérique or Otto, or for my children, I have no doubt.
When mamma writes to London, or Zwolle, or to the Horze, it is one
long complaint that she never sees those stray sheep. You can
understand how unhappy she was when Cathérine and Suzanne
married and left her. I believe she would like to build a sort of hotel,
where she could stow the lot of us—Théodore and Howard and
Stralenburg, and all the rest. Dear, dear mamma!”

They both were silent for a time. The Schevening road twisted itself
like a long gray ribbon before them, with a distant perspective of
tree stems under a network of budding twigs. The sunshine
glistened on the fresh young foliage waving bright under the clear
blue sky, and on the old stems there appeared a new layer of fresh
green moss, soft as velvet. The chirping of birds vibrated through
the clear atmosphere in tones of crystal.

“How glorious it is here!” said Mathilde; “one lives anew. But let us
get into this little lane. The people tire me; I dare say we tire them
too; we are out of harmony with nature’s surroundings. I always
think people so ugly amid green foliage, especially in the early
spring. You see, I am beginning to philosophize.”

Jeanne laughed, brimful of happiness. The world appeared to her

beautiful and good, full of love. And she thought of Frans!
They had seated themselves on a bench, and Jeanne ventured to
ask— [154]

“But how about yourself, Mathilde? You are always talking about
your mamma, but never about yourself.”

Mathilde looked up with something like a shiver.

“About myself? I do my best to forget about myself. ’Tis only to the

children that I am still of any use; for them I live and think. If they
were not here, I should be dead.”

In her words there resounded the memory of a dull grief, faded

away long ago into a placid resignation.

“If you have imagined yourself very happy, happy through and with
one, for whose sake you would have sacrificed body and soul, and
you observe—But ah! why speak about that?”

“Does the thought of that cause you such suffering then?”

“Oh no; I have suffered. There was a time when I thought I should
have gone mad, and I cursed the name of God; but that bitter
sorrow has been transformed into a lethargy that is past. I never
think of it, I only think of my four little darlings. And that thought
fills my mind sufficiently, so that I need not become a living mummy.
You know, until now I have been teaching them myself; but ’tis
getting time for Tina and Jo to go to school. Otto says so at least;
but I should miss them very much, and mamma, of course, sides
with me there. Darlings!”

Perhaps she only fancied it, but Jeanne thought that in that dull
resignation she could detect a tone of suppressed bitterness, and
she could not help taking Mathilde’s hand in hers and whispering
pityingly—
“Poor girl!”

“Yes; you—you are richer than I, you have your children and you
have your husband,” answered Mathilde with a sad smile, whilst her
eyes filled with tears; “and though you have your troubles and
vexations, you have more—more than I. Let that be your comfort
when you have a fit of melancholy. Just think of me, think that I
could yet envy you, if—if everything were not dead within me,
everything except that one thing alone.”

“Mathilde! Oh, how can you speak like that? it pains me!”

“It should not do so, for me it pains no longer. ’Tis only just a faint
memory of what has been, you know; nothing more. But still, ’tis
better to be silent about it; the raking up of these memories does
me no good, but hurts me, though I am almost a mummy.”

“Oh, Mathilde, how is it possible that you can always keep it

[155]pent up within you? I—I could not do so; I should have to give it
vent, that which made me so——”

“No, no, Jeanne; oh, truly no, never more! Do not speak any more
about it, or—I—I shall feel myself brought back to life again. No,
don’t; never again—I beg of you.”

She leaned back against the seat, and tears dropped from her
lashes, whilst with her waxen pallor, and in her sombre black dress,
she seemed a picture of an infinite, unspeakable sorrow. She would
not be brought back to life, she wanted to be dead!

Jeanne did not want to get home too late, so that she might be
there before the children and Frans. So they turned back.
“And now I dare say I have made you sad, when I wanted to refresh
you with a pleasant walk?” asked Mathilde smiling. “Yes; that comes
of all that philosophy; forgive me, do!”

Jeanne could find nothing to say, and shook her head smilingly, to
signify that she was really not sad. And in her inmost soul she had to
acknowledge deeply—though Mathilde’s silent despair had at first
grieved her—now that she herself had once more assumed her
ordinary semblance of resignation, that pity for her friend became
fused into a feeling of peace and rest, as far as her own small
troubles were concerned. By the side of that one great ever-reviving
sorrow the latter seemed to her small and insignificant, the easily-
borne troubles of life, whilst had she been doomed to bear
Mathilde’s sorrows, she would have been crushed beneath them.
She felt a remorse that she was ungrateful for all the good that was
bestowed on her, and which still was hers—a remorse that
sometimes she dared to feel herself wretched at her fate, and yet
she had been spared so much sorrow! Frans, he might have his
faults, he might be hasty and disagreeable when he was ill; still he
loved her, a and after a moment’s reflection, he was always ready to
own himself in the wrong; still he prized her. And in that sweet
thought, which made her feel proudly contented, she could no
longer feel sad in sympathy, though she considered herself an
egotist on account of it; but oh! it was so rarely that she felt such a
delicious sweetness pervade her little soul; was it wrong then for a
brief moment to feel an egotist’s pleasure?

Mathilde took her home again, and Jeanne left to herself longed, full
of renewed animation, for her children. Soon they came, refreshed
with their bout in the open, and she embraced them [156]almost
impetuously, and let them tell her where they had been, what they
had done. And when Dora was a little peevish, she joked and played
with the little weakling until she laughed. Life did not seem quite so
sombre now; why not be a bit cheerful?
[Contents]
 CHAPTER XVII.
Lili sat reading in the small drawing-room, when Frédérique entered.
She had been paying some visits and came to finish her afternoon at
the Verstraetens’.

“Is Marie out?” asked Freddie.

“No,” answered Lili; “we have been out. Marie is still up-stairs.”

“What is Marie doing there?” resumed Frédérique, in some surprise.

“What in Heaven’s name is she always doing up-stairs lately?
Whenever I come here, she is up-stairs. You haven’t fallen out, have
you?”

“Oh no; not at all,” replied Lili. “Marie is doing some drawing, I
believe; or perhaps she has some writing to do, as she often has.”

“Writing what—a letter?”

“Oh, no—a novel, or something of the sort; but you had better not
say anything about it; perhaps she does not like us to know.”

Frédérique was silent for a moment.

“Don’t you find Marie rather changed?” she resumed.

“Changed? Marie? No; I have noticed nothing. Why do you ask?”

“Oh! for no special reason; I was only thinking. Marie is always so

busy just now, with one thing or another.”
“But so she has always been; she always tries to find something to
do. Papa says I am the only lazy one in the family.”

Frédérique was silent; but inwardly she wondered that Lili had not
remarked how lately there was something unusual about Marie,
something excitable and nervous, so very different from her former
healthy cheerfulness. However, she thought, perhaps it was only her
fancy after all. [157]

“You know we are going to the Oudendyks’ this evening,” she said,
to turn the conversation.

“Oh yes; you told me some time ago that you were invited. So you
are going out again, eh? You have been a little blasé for a time,
haven’t you? at least you were always taken ill after an invitation,”
laughed Lili.

“Oh, I felt very ill at ease,” Frédérique answered frankly. “It was, you
know, on account of that folly of Otto’s. But now that there is
nothing more to do in the affair, I wash my hands of it. He ought to
know best, eh? Anyhow, I don’t see the use of fretting because——”

She did not finish the sentence, and her eyes became moist, as an
expression of haughty disdain formed about her mouth.

“But, Freddie,” Lili gently remonstrated, “he has known her so long;
all the time she has been living at the van Raats’; and if he really
cares for her——”

“Oh, there’s nothing I should desire more, than that all may go well,
and they may be happy. But I can’t help it. Eline I cannot bear. Of
course now I force myself to be nice and friendly to her; but you
know it is so difficult for me to make myself appear different from
what I am. But come, let us talk about something else; it can’t be
helped now, and the less I think of it the better. Shall we go up-
stairs to Marie?”

Lili agreed, and they went. In the girls’ sitting-room Marie was
seated at a little writing-table; a few sheets of writing lay before her,
but her head was resting on her hand, and with her pen she was, as
if lost in thought, drawing some strokes across a blank sheet of
paper. When Freddie and Lili entered, she gave a sudden start.

“We have come to disturb you in your busy occupations,”

commenced Freddie, laughing; “that is, unless you would rather
have us go.”

“Certainly not; you know better, don’t you? So unsociable too of Lili,
to sit down all by herself, down-stairs.”

Lili did not answer; neither of them was in the habit of staying in her
room in the afternoon, and it was Marie herself who was unsociable.

“What is it you are writing? is it a secret?” asked Freddie, with a

glance at the scribbled sheets.

“Oh no,” answered Marie, with seeming indifference. “’Tis

[158]something I started long ago—a sort of diary, a description of
our trip in Thuringia and the Black Forest last year. I wanted to make
up a little sketch about it, something romantic if possible, but ’tis
getting tiresome. I really don’t know what made me start it,” she
added softly; “I’m not cut out for writing, eh?”

“I can’t say,” said Freddie encouragingly. “Just read us a little of it.”

“Yes; fancy boring you with my school-girl scribble. Pas si bête,”

cried Marie laughing. “You see, a person must do something; I felt
bored, so I started writing. I’ll tell you what it is, Frédérique,” she
continued, with a tragic-comic glance at her friend, “I think we are
growing so old. Yes, downright old; we are getting tiresome. Do you
know, ’tis months since we had a good laugh together, as we used
to so often.”

“With Paul or Etienne?” added Lili, smiling at the recollection.

“With or without them. We used to amuse ourselves without the

boys just as well. But now—I don’t know what you think, but I think
we are all of us awful bores. We are each of us getting our worries—
you have for some time suffered from an antipathy towards Eline. Lili
does not speak a word; she is either in dreamland all day, or
overwhelms me with her romantic musings; and as for myself, out of
sheer ennui I start writing about blue mountains and misty
horizons.”

“What will it all end in?” laughed Freddie. “The future looks very
dismal, especially in your case. Behind those blue mountains and the
misty horizon there is something hidden, I know.”

“Something hidden?” repeated Marie. “Oh no, not at all; nothing.”

Frédérique fancied she could see a tear glide through Marie’s fingers,
which she held in front of her eyes. Lili kept herself occupied
arranging a few books in a bookcase.

“Marie,” whispered Freddie softly, “come, tell me. Is anything the

matter? can I do anything for you? I wish you would tell me if there
is. I can see there is something that troubles you.”

Marie rose, and turned her face away.

“Oh dear, no, Freddie; don’t you fancy anything of the sort. You are
getting just as romantic as Lili. There is nothing, really. ’Tis only that
I feel wretchedly bored, that is all; I want some cheerfulness. Hallo,
old chappie!”
Her brother entered, somewhat surprised. [159]

“Eh! what are you three doing here? Talking about your gentleman
friends, I’ll bet!” he cried noisily.

“What a wise remark,” answered Marie. “Just like the men. ’Tis your
natural vanity that makes you say such a thing, though you are but a
boy yourself. Wait a bit, I’ll teach you.”

She ran after him round the table, whilst he, mocking her, deftly
skipped over a chair, which he quickly placed in her way. Freddie and
Lili roared with laughter at their antics. All at once he rushed out of
the room, and Marie after him.

“What a girl that Marie is!” cried Freddie wonderingly. It passed her
understanding. After a while Marie returned, all out of breath.

“Did you catch him?” asked Lili.

“Of course not,” she answered. “That boy is like a goat, so nimble,
he skips over everything. Ah, ’tis a treat, a run like that. I wish I
were a boy.”

Freddie left, and Lili accompanied her down-stairs; Marie was

coming down directly. But she stayed at the window for a while, and
looked out. In the falling twilight, which was wrapping everything in
a transparent ashen-hued mist, lay the canal, green and still,
overshadowed by the leafy boughs of the bordering trees. Beyond it
lay the Maliebaan, dim in the gathering shadows, with a moist thin
veil of grayish dew rising upward from its surface.

Marie looked out and sighed. Yes; she would always laugh away that
feeling, that cruel, gnawing bitterness, out of her heart, as she had
done just now. She was growing old, downright old, and tiresome.
Without mercy for herself she would wrench away that blossom from
her soul, she would again and again blot out that vision. It was
torture, but still she must do it.

And as she stared away into that melancholy mist, ascending in gray
layers over the valley yonder, a beloved face rose up before her
moist eyes—a manly face, with an expression of frankness and
sincerity in its eyes, and beaming with a winning smile; but it was
not upon her, but upon Eline, that that smile threw its brightness.

The tramcars running between the Ouden Schevening road and the
Kurhaus were thronged. At the junction of the Anna Paulownastraat
and the Laan Copes van Cattenburgh they were stormed by waiting
crowds, and in a moment they were filled to overflowing—inside,
outside, and on the platforms. There was a vast amount [160]of
pushing to obtain even the merest standing-room, among the
numbers of ladies, who, nervous and excited, fluttered about in their
gay toilets, peering through the windows in the hope of finding a
vacant spot. The conductors pulled the bells, and shouted to those
who were left behind, who turned away and began to watch for the
next car to arrive. The horses started, and the faces of those who
had managed to wedge their way in, and were seated packed close
as herrings, now beamed with happiness after the successful
struggle.

“What a crowd! It’s fearful,” said Eline, looking down upon the
surging mass with a placid smile.

She sat beside Betsy in the open landau, with Henk and Otto facing
her. Dirk, the coachman, had been compelled to halt a moment, but
now again the long file of carriages began to move. Herman, the
little footman, sat on the box with crossed arms, motionless and
straight in his light gray livery with its bright buttons.
“There will be a terrible crowd,” said Betsy. “But it’s in the open air,
so we need not fear we shall get no seat.”

Not a breath of wind stirred through the dense foliage, and after a
day of intense heat and glaring sun, with the gathering twilight a
leaden heaviness seemed to descend over everything. Eline, rather
faint with the heat, leaned back with pale cheeks and spoke little;
only now and then glancing at Otto through her drooping lashes,
with an archness that was full of happiness. Betsy kept up a lively
conversation with van Erlevoort, for Henk was not very talkative
either, reflecting as he was whether it would not have been wiser to
have stayed at home drinking a cup of tea in the garden, rather than
rush away directly after dinner to Scheveningen.

Betsy, however, robust and cheerful, enjoyed the fragrant air, of

which she took deep breaths. She enjoyed the soft, padded cushions
of her luxurious, well-appointed carriage, contrasting so brightly with
the other vehicles; she enjoyed even the sight of Herman’s dignified
attitude, and of the silver initials worked on the hangings of the box.
She was contented with herself, with the luxury that she displayed,
and contented with her company. Eline was so charmingly pretty,
just like a little doll; her dress of light gray étamine was almost
striking in its simplicity, while the coquettish little hat enclosed her
face in a framework of silk. Erlevoort was [161]such a fine-looking
fellow, and so distingué; Henk looked so comfortable and stout, so
well-fed—her husband was really not so bad; she might have fared
worse. And she nodded to her acquaintances as their carriage
passed by with her most captivating smile; no, she must not seem
proud, though her fine bay mares ran never so fast.

“Oh, glorious! the air is getting fresher, I am beginning to revive!”

murmured Eline, raising herself up, with a deep breath, when they
had passed the Promenade. “I feel I want some fresh air, after the
temperature of this afternoon.”

“Come, child, it was delicious!” declared Betsy. “The sort of weather

I should always like to have.”

“Well, all I can say is, I should be dead after a month of it. I say,
Otto, you are laughing; tell me honestly now—do you think it’s
affectation, or do you really believe that I cannot bear such heat?”

“Of course I believe you, Elly.”

She looked at him with feigned anger, and shook her little head
reproachfully.

“Elly again,” she whispered.

“Oh yes; how stupid of me. Well, I do believe I know something!” he

whispered back delightedly.

“What are you two planning together?” asked Henk, with curiosity.

“Nothing at all; eh, Otto? A little secret between us; hush!” and she
held her finger to her mouth, enjoying their mystification.

The fact was she did not wish Otto to call her by the familiar
diminutive every one else gave her. She wanted him to invent one
for himself alone, one that was not worn and stale, something new
and fresh. He did not think it very childish of her, eh? And he had
exhausted himself trying to think of one, but whatever he said she
was not satisfied; he had better try again. Well, had he found
something at last?

“I am really anxious to know what it is,” she whispered once more,

smiling.
“Afterwards,” he whispered back, and then both smiled.

“Look here, until now I have found you less tiresome than most
engaged couples, so don’t you, too, start these intolerable inanities,”
cried Betsy indignantly, but without much anger.

“Well; and how about you and Henk then, at one time!” laughed
Eline. “Eh, Henk?” [162]

“Ah, I should think so!” answered Henk laughing, whilst she, at the
thought of her sister’s betrothal, now years ago, felt a faint
recollection of her feelings in those days rise to her mind, like
something very far away and strange.

But they had long passed by the villas along the Badhuis road, and
by the Galeries at the rear of the Kurhaus, and they drew up at the
steps of the terrace, by the sea.

The Eekhofs and the Hydrechts were seated at a little table close to
the band-stand, when Betsy, Eline, Otto, and Henk passed one by
one through the turnstile. They never saw them, however, and
walked on, Otto’s hand resting on Eline’s arm.

“Look, there are the van Raats, and Miss Vere, with Erlevoort!” said
young Hydrecht. “They are here every evening lately.”

“How ridiculously plain Eline dresses just now!” remarked Léonie.

“What is the meaning of that, I wonder? Nothing but affectation.
And just fancy—a bonnet and veil! Every engaged girl thinks she
must wear a bonnet and veil. Ridiculous!”

“But they are a nice pair,” said Madame Eekhof. “There are less
suitable matches.”
“Anyhow, they walk decently,” said Ange. “Sometimes those engaged
couples make themselves ridiculous—Marguerite van Laren, for
instance, who is always brushing the dust off her intended’s coat.”

Betsy meanwhile, bowing and smiling right and left, thought they
had better not walk about any more, but look for a table
somewhere.

Fortunately it was pleasant everywhere; it was even desirable to sit

at some distance from the band-stand, otherwise the noise would
have been too great. So they sat down at a little distance, at the
side of the Conversatie-zaal, where there were still several tables
unoccupied, but from where they could see and be seen.

It was a constant interchange of nods and smiles, and Betsy and

Eline now and again whispered amusedly when they caught sight of
some absurd toilette or ridiculous hat. Eline herself was very
satisfied at the simplicity with which, ever since her engagement,
she had dressed herself; a simplicity which, elegant though it still
was, was in too great contrast with her former luxurious toilettes not
to be much remarked. That simplicity, she thought, brought out her
captivating beauty in a sort of plastic relief, and [163]modelled her
slender form as though it were a marble statue. In her eyes it veiled
her former frivolousness as with a film of graceful seriousness, a
seriousness which to Otto, with his native simplicity, must be most
attractive.

She could not help being as she was; she felt it difficult to be
nothing but herself; but, on the other hand, it was easy for her to
imagine herself playing one or another part: this time it was that of
the somewhat affected but ever-charming and happy fiancée of a
manly young fellow, one of her own circle, who was liked
everywhere for his unaffected pleasantness. Yes; she was happy—
she felt it, with all the delight of a satisfied longing in her heart,
which had so long craved for happiness; she was happy in the peace
and calm which his great, silent love—which she guessed at rather
than understood—had given her; she was happy in the blue stillness
of that limpid lake, that Nirvana into which her fantasy-burdened
soul had glided as into a bed of down. So happy was she, even to
her very nerves, which were as loosened chords after their long-
continued tension, that often she felt a tear of intense gratefulness
rise to her eye. The stream of people passed by her incessantly, and
began to whirl a little before her eyes, so that once or twice she did
not return their greetings.

“Eline, why don’t you bow? Can’t you see Madame van der Stoor and
little Cateau?” whispered Betsy reproachingly.

Eline looked round, and gave her friendliest nod, when Vincent Vere
and Paul van Raat approached them. They remained standing, as
there were no vacant chairs to be seen.

“Would you two like to sit down for a moment; that is, if Eline cares
to walk?” asked Otto, half rising.

Eline thought it was a capital idea, and whilst Vincent and Paul took
their seats, she and Otto slowly followed the stream of
promenaders. They approached the band-stand, and the high violin
movements in the overture to Lohengrin were swelling out fuller and
fuller, like rays of crystal.

A group of attentive music-lovers was ranged about the band in a

semi-circle. Otto wanted to let Eline pass through the narrow
gangway between the rows of chairs and the standing group, but
she turned round, and whispered—

“Listen for a moment; shall we?”

He nodded his head, and they stood still. How she enjoyed the
stately swell of melody. It seemed to her as though it were not
[164]notes of music, but the blue waters of her lake that flowed by,
limpid and clear as the stream along whose bosom Lohengrin’s bark
had glided, and she beheld the swans, stately and beautiful.

At the loud fortissimo she took a deep breath, and while the brittle
threads of harmony brought forth by the violins spun themselves
out, thinner and thinner in texture, the swans, stately and beautiful,
also floated away.

The applause resounded on all sides; the semi-circle broke.

“Beautiful—oh, how beautiful!” murmured Eline as in a dream. And

delightedly she felt Otto’s hand searching for her arm; life was sweet
indeed!

“Don’t you think it foolish? I always feel myself so—so much better
than at other times, when I hear beautiful music; it is then that I get
a feeling as though I am not quite unworthy of you,” she lisped at
his ear, so that none overheard her. “Perhaps it is childish, but I
really cannot help it.”

She looked at him smiling, but almost anxiously, in suspense at what

he would answer. She often felt some fear at what he might think of
her, as though by one thoughtless word she might lose him; for she
did not yet understand how and why he loved her.

“Oh, don’t for heaven’s sake place me on such a lofty pedestal,” he

answered kindly. “I feel myself so very commonplace, so little raised
above others; you must not put yourself so far beneath me. You not
quite unworthy of me! What puts that idea into your head? Little
silly! Shall I tell you something? I really don’t think that you know
yourself.”
Could he be right? she wondered; did she not know herself? A glad
surprise filled her; she thought she knew herself so well. Maybe
there was yet something in her soul of which she knew nothing,
something perhaps from which her love for him flowed? Was it left
for him to disclose to her her own inward nature?

“Oh, Otto——” she began.

“What?” he asked softly.

“Nothing. I like you so much when you say anything about yourself
and me,” she murmured, full of a blissful feeling to which she could
give no utterance. His hand gently pressed her arm, and a tremor
passed through her, as they walked on amid the laughing, pushing
throng between the tables, stared at by all who knew them. [165]

“Look at Erlevoort and Eline there, walking blissfully side by side,

perdus dans le même rêve. They don’t see us again!” cried Léonie,
almost regretfully, as she passed by them with Hydrecht.

Eline and Otto all at once heard their names softly mentioned. They
looked round and saw Madame Verstraeten with Marie, Lili, and
Frédérique seated at a little table. Georges de Woude had already
risen and nodded to them, smiling. They came nearer and shook
hands.

“Hallo, Freddie!” said Otto, surprised.

“Madame Verstraeten was kind enough to ask me to come,” she

answered, by way of explanation. “Otto, we have just received a
letter from the Horze: they are all quite well, and they want to be
remembered to you. To you too, Eline.”
“Thanks, very much!” replied Eline cordially, while for a moment she
sat down in Georges’ chair beside Madame Verstraeten. Marie had
turned very pale, but it was not noticeable under her white veil.

“Théodore writes that Suzanne and van Stralenburg, with the baby,
are coming to stay with them next week, and mamma is all
excitement about it.”

“What, was mamma going to the Horze? And Howard is coming

here?”

“Yes; that’s just the dilemma.”

“Dear old Madame Erlevoort!” said Madame Verstraeten.

“Percy wrote he was coming towards the latter part of July. Well, van
Stralenburg cannot stay longer than the twentieth, writes Théodore.
So you can understand”—and she forced herself to look kindly at
Eline—“you can understand how mamma feels about it. To journey
to Zwolle, that she will not be able to manage; and to leave the
Hague before the twentieth, while Howard and Cathérine are coming
—that of course she cannot do.”

“But Howard is also going to the Horze later on, is he not?” asked
Otto.

“Yes; but he will want to stay a little in the Hague first, and take
advantage of Scheveningen,” answered Frédérique. “Mamma is
thinking of all sorts of plans; she would be in despair if she did not
see her new grandchild this summer, you can understand that.”

“Well, then, I shall prevail on mamma to go to Zwolle with me,

[166]one of these days; that will be the best way out of it,” answered
Otto. “The journey to the Horze is still more troublesome.”
“You might try,” said Frédérique. “That would certainly solve the
problem.”

Meanwhile Lili told Madame Verstraeten that she would take a walk
round with de Woude, and the old lady asked Otto to sit down for a
moment until they returned.

“How pretty Eline is, is she not, de Woude?” asked Lili. Since she
had been skating with him she allowed him to call her by her name,
and she called him simply de Woude. “I can’t help remarking it
whenever I see her.”

“Yes; she looks very nice,” answered Georges indifferently.

“No; I think she is downright pretty,” persisted Lili. “How is it

possible that you don’t think her pretty? What a curious taste you
have, to be sure!”

He laughed gaily, in the enjoyment of a secret thought.

“I can’t help it—can I?—if she leaves me entirely indifferent; I have

another ideal of beauty. But if you absolutely want me to think her
pretty, why then I’ll take another look.”

“Oh no, no; I don’t care a bit,” she answered, also laughing; “only all
the gentlemen think her pretty, that’s why I can’t understand that
you don’t. And I can’t make out either why Frédérique does not like
her. If I were a man, I should fall madly in love with her.”

“And fight a duel with Erlevoort, I suppose.”

The first part of the programme was at an end, and the throng of
promenaders grew denser. Georges and Lili found themselves
hemmed in on all sides, and they could proceed no farther.