A Pineapple In The Hand

Day 141: The pineapple is a delightful single-strand terminal knot which conceals the raw end of a rope or cord. It is relatively easy to tie in the hand, and fortunately so. Over last night and this morning, I've tied 16 of the blasted things, putting the finishing touches on the "sheeping bags" I sewed up earlier in the week. I'm using a 4mm cotton macramé cord. It's soft and a bit floppy to work with, but tightens down into a firm knob. The pineapple knot is formed with a start of three bights, then doubled in a loose "cloverleaf." Working backwards from the running end, the bights are tightened to take up the slack a little at a time. The process may need to be repeated three or four times until the knot is fully tightened. Be patient! Taking out too much slack at once may disrupt the lay of the cords, making it difficult to continue. I like to put an overhand knot on the running end to serve as a core for the knob. It also prevents the end from popping out from between the strands while working.