The Loop Knot

Variations And Applications

Any Loop knot can be used for forming a Lark's Head at the end of a flying line. The simplest version will weaken the line somewhat more than the others.

The Loop Knot

Now, the simple loop on the end of a flying line is fine for small kites, where the line usually has ample strength. However, for much bigger kites, it's a good idea not to weaken the line unnecessarily. In particular, there are 2 knots which offer greater strength than the simple Loop - the Double Loop and the Figure Eight knots.

Other uses for this knot include...

The bow-line loop through which you insert the toggle, to bow the spar. This applies to my Dowel Series of kites in particular.
A handy large knot to stop a Lark's Head from slipping off the bridle line. I put a short line with a Simple Loop at the end on just about all my kites except the Deltas.
A knot with a very small loop is handy to stop Slip Knots from slipping through. The loop itself doesn't do anything, but the double-size knot in the line sure holds the Slip Knot securely.

If you're in the habit of using a Truckie's Knot to pull some bow into a spar, then of course, that uses the Loop Knot as well. No need for anything fancier there.

The Dowel Sode uses 2 long loops of flying line to tension the bowed horizontal spars away from each other. The simple Loop is adequately strong in this situation too.

The Double Loop Knot

The Double Loop is significantly stronger than the Simple Loop. That is, it does not weaken the breaking strain of the line as much. However, it's almost as easy to tie as the Simple version. Just wrap the loop around twice instead of once. That's it. Use this knot on the end of your flying line, so it can be attached to a kite bridle with a Lark's Head.

This knot is also worth remembering whenever you want to tie a large knot that will not pull through another knot. For example, near the towing point of a keel. Or perhaps to make completely sure a Slip Knot doesn't slip undone! In both those cases, the Double Loop looks neatest when the loop is tied as small as possible. After all, the loop itself is not being used for anything.

I guess if you are using a tent peg as a ground stake, it would be handy to just slip a loop over to hold the line. In that case, you would have a loop tied into both ends of the flying line.

A double-ended flying line would also come in handy for attaching 2 kites together in a train. If the kite closest to ground had a short line out the back, with a large knot, the line to the second kite could just be Lark's Headed on. Quick and simple.

The Figure Eight Knot

The Figure Eight Knot is another loop variation which is significantly stronger than the Simple Loop. It's a fishing knot, and just a little trickier to tie.

Many kite people use this knot on the end of their flying lines, which is then Lark's Headed to a kite's bridle. One day I'm going to get around to doing some tests to see if it really is stronger than the Double Loop Knot. The results will be reported on this website!

I suppose the Figure Eight could be used as a large terminating knot like the Double Loop, but the latter is much quicker and easier to do.

How about a loop tied into both ends of the flying line? Like the Double Loop, the Figure Eight could then be used for tethering a kite to a ground stake. Just by slipping the loop over, as long as the stake was shaped or angled to ensure the loop doesn't slip off.

Also, with the right bridles, flying lines with a loop knot on both ends could be used to hitch together a train of kites.

ALL the knot-tying pages on this site are included in the e-book 'Making Dowel Kites' Using all the right knots is good for reliability and ease of adjustment while making and flying kites. Particularly with the huge bonus Multi-Dowel designs!

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