Knot your mother’s rope.
Many crafty projects require the use of rope. Macrame anyone? Hammocks, shelving, finishes for railings, bannisters, etc. (ever been on a navy ship?) put knots of all kinds to good use. Learning how to tie various knots is probably not something you’d think would be easy online. Too many steps, does the rope go left or right, under or over, etc. I tried explaining how to tie a bowline knot to a friend over instant messaging once, and despite my best descriptive efforts, I failed miserably. Animatedknots.com did not. My friend learned a bowline in less than 5 minutes. The animation can be slowed down, run backwards, frame by frame even. And for you lefties, there’s a flip and rotate feature, so you can see what the knot looks like being tied upside down or turned around.
Unfortunately, there aren’t too many decorative knots on the site. If you’re feeling adventurous, look around for directions on how to make an ocean plait.
