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Inknot tying, abight is a curved section or slack part between the two ends of arope,string, oryarn.[1] A knot that can be tied using only the bight of a rope, without access to the ends, is described asin the bight. The term "bight" is also used in a more specific way when describingTurk's head knots, indicating how many repetitions ofbraiding are made in the circuit of a given knot.[2]
Sources differ on whether an openloop or U-shaped curve in a rope qualifies as a bight.Ashley (1944) treats bights and loops as distinct, stating that a curve "no narrower than a semicircle" is a bight,[3] while an open loop is a curve "narrower than a bight but with separated ends".[4] However,The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Knots (2002) states: "Any section of line that is bent into a U-shape is a bight."[5]
In order to make aslipped knot (alsoslipped loop andquick release knot), a bight must be passed, rather than the end. Thisslipped form of the knot is more easily untied. The traditionalbow knot used for tyingshoelaces is simply areef knot with the finaloverhand knot made with two bights instead of the ends. Similarly, aslippery hitch is a slippedclove hitch.[citation needed]
The phrasein the bight (oron a bight) means a bight of line is itself being used to make a knot. Specifically this means that the knot can be formed without access to the ends of the rope.[6] This can be an important property for knots to be used in situations where the ends of the rope are inaccessible, such as forming a fixed loop in the middle of a longclimbing rope.[citation needed]
Many knots normally tied with an end also have a form which is tied in the bight (for example, thebowline and thebowline on a bight). In other cases, a knot being tied in the bight is a matter of the method of tying rather than a difference in the completed form of the knot. For example, theclove hitch can be made "in the bight" if it is being slipped over the end of a post but not if being cast onto a closed ring, which requires access to an end of the rope. Other knots, such as theoverhand knot, cannot be tied in the bight without changing their final form.[citation needed]
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