How to Tie a Chain Sinnet

Steps

1. 

2. 1

   Shorten a rope with stitches

   The chain sinnet shortens a rope or cable for storage. You make it by working a series of simple stitches into the line, much the way crochet works.

3. 2

   Know its many names

   In The Ashley Book of Knots it is knot number 2868, and it also appears as numbers 1144 and 1145. You may meet it called chain stitch, crochet stitch, daisy chain, monkey braid, monkey chain, single trumpet cord or single bugle cord.

4. One knot, a heap of names: daisy chain, monkey braid and single bugle cord all describe this same chain of stitches. A video or a book using one of those names is not showing you a different knot. The names come from different trades that each found the same structure useful.
5. 3

   Expect an easy first knot

   Behind that long list of names sits a knot that asks for very little skill or dexterity. It is often taught to children as a fun way into rope work.

6. 4

   Pick a slick, flexible rope

   How easily it comes undone depends on the rope. Synthetic kernmantle ropes and paracord are slick and flexible, so the quick release works best in them. Kernmantle means a rope with a woven outer cover around an inner core. Natural fibre ropes such as manila or cotton have more friction, and the quick release is harder in them.

7. 5

   Double a very long rope first

   For a very long rope, fold the line in half before you start. You can fold it a second time and work four strands at a time. Rope length decides this. Doubling shortens the finished chain further and speeds up the work, but the chain comes out bulkier.

8. 
   6

   Pull bight after bight through

   Start by making a loop, noose or slip knot in the rope. Pull a bight of the working part through it. A bight is simply a U shaped fold in the rope. Then pull a fresh bight through the loop of each stitch before it, and keep going until the rope is short enough.

9. 
   7

   Tighten each loop as you go

   With every new loop, snug up the one before it. This makes the chain much tighter and stops it working longer while it sits. For storage or washing you can leave the loops bigger and looser instead.

10. A tight chain and a loose chain do different jobs: a tight one holds its length and stays neat while the rope is stored or carried. A loose one is faster to make and easier to shake out, which is enough when the rope is only going into a bag or a washing machine. Neither is wrong. They just suit different ends.
11. 
    8

    Lock the end, then pull to release

    Finish the sinnet by passing the working end through the final loop. To release it, take that same end back out of the final loop and pull. The whole chain unravels.

12. 9

    Watch for four common mistakes

    Uneven loop tension is the usual one. Cinching the first noose too tight makes the first loop hard to pass a bight through. Forgetting the final lock lets the chain unravel when something bumps it. Over-twisting is the fourth. If the rope starts to hockle, meaning it kinks into small loops against itself, let the free end hang and spin the tension out.

13. 10

    Tame extension cords and cables

    Electricians call this the Contractor's Wrap and use it to store long extension cords. It works on headphone leads and other cables too, without the knotting that other coiling methods leave behind.

14. 11

    Coil a rope for storage

    The same chain coils a rope for storage or carrying, and it keeps the coil from collapsing into a heap. It also stops a rope tangling while it goes through the washing machine.

15. 12

    Use it as decoration

    The chain sinnet turns up on dress uniforms as well. You can use it decoratively to shorten the end of a light pull and give it a little bulk.

16. 13

    Spot the same stitch in crochet

    That decorative side is no accident. The same structure is the crochet chain stitch that begins most crochet projects as a base chain. The oldest archaeological evidence of chain stitch embroidery comes from China in 1100 BC, and early sewing machines used the chain stitch until it was replaced, because it unravels so easily.

17. Why it comes undone so willingly: the quick release is not a clever trick added to this knot. It is the nature of the chain stitch itself. Early sewing machines were abandoned for exactly the same reason, because a chain stitch runs out from one end when you pull it. What made the stitch a poor seam makes it an excellent way to store a rope.
18. 14

    Choose a crown sinnet for pure decoration

    When you want decoration rather than a shortened rope, the crown sinnet is the other choice. It is numbers 2912 and 2915 in the same book, and it is made from a run of crown knots on three or four strands. Pick it when you want a symmetrical solid braid for a lanyard or bracelet.