The Knotty Bear.: Join

(Edited from my original article which appeared in Knotting Matters #103, June 2009)

A Stacked, Interlaced Mesh Bend & Variation, for use in net making.

How do all ;-)

A few years ago when I first started working on a design for a monofilament cast net I was planning to make; I found that the many methods of joining in a new line whilst making a net that I knew of were not satisfactory for my needs, by satisfactory I mean that none of the bends I tried fulfilled the role of looking good as well as making a strong, durable join, so I started playing around; like you do; and I discovered a bend that better suited my needs for joining in a new needle of twine, and also a variation of the same bend; both of which I would like to share with you here.
I have not seen either of these in print or documented anywhere else; so I am quite happy to claim these as my own discoveries, if however anyone can give me any book reference or other documentary evidence to either of the two bends I describe here I will happily give recognition were deserved.

I have shown / taught one or both of these methods to a fair few people now over the past few years and I have heard no complaints of failure or unsuitability from anyone (yet) so I will consider it safe to share this information without fear of being sued for premature net failure ;-)

Both of the bends I would like to share with you are variations on the standard interlaced mesh knot method of joining in a new line, which I will also show here first so as to save confusion as these bends are very similar in construction.
Please also note that there are many different methods for joining in a new line whilst net making, some use very strong, simple bends which join the old and new lines together; and some where the old and new lines are bent to the bottom of the above mesh completing a mesh knot whilst making the join, some will be better suited than the ones I describe here for some applications, for instance; where the join may need to be practically invisible or where the strength of the join is a more important consideration than the look of the finished net.

The advantages of the Bends I have discovered are:
Because of the alternately stacked nature of the old and new line parts in the bend it is very hard for the complete join to come loose in use; or for any one line to come out of the join.
The bend is very easy to make and can be made tight from the start, so there is no need to leave a loose starter knot to be followed around with the new line, this also makes getting the meshes even in size much easier and quicker.
In small twine; the bends I have shown here do not detract too much from the overall design of the net as they resemble a mesh knot when finished and their extra bulk is hardly noticeable in the finished net (Please see figure 8 for an example).
I have also found these bends to work equally well in many different types, constructions and sizes of material, including monofilament Nylon, plain and bonded Nylon twines, Polypropylene and Polyethylene twines, Polyester, Cotton, Flax, Linen, Sisal and even in some un-named exotic braid I have tried.

The Interlaced Mesh Bend. (For want of a better Name)
Figures 1 & 2 show the normal method of tying in a new line using this bend
I personally find that this bend can loosen with rough use; and also when tied in some slick materials.

Figure 1:
The end of the old line (Pink) is first tied into a loose mesh knot in the next mesh of the above row.

Figure 2:
The new line (Yellow) is brought in from behind and follows the lead of the loose mesh knot tied in the old line and then all parts are dressed and tightened carefully. (Note; you can follow the old lead above or below but I have found that following it above gives a more secure knot)

The Stacked, Interlaced Mesh Bend; or S.I.M Bend for short.
This is the bend I prefer for most of my net making.

Figure 3:
The old line (Pink) is passed through the next upper mesh from the rear and the new line (Yellow) is brought in from the rear and placed on top of and across the old line from left to right as shown.

Figure 4:
A hitch is made with the w’end of the old line around the legs of the upper mesh just above the new line and is tightened; completing the first mesh knot in this join.

Figure 5:
A hitch is made with the w’end of the new line around the legs of the upper mesh just above finished mesh knot in the old line and is tightened; completing this version of the Stacked, Interlaced Mesh Bend

Figure 6:
The new line is then used as normal to carry on with the next section of netting.

Figure 7:
This picture shows the back view of the Stacked, Interlaced Mesh Bend.

Figure 8:
This picture shows the Stacked, Interlaced Mesh Bend made in one of my nets.
In a working net I like to leave the ends about ½ a bar in length so there will be no chance of the bend slipping and coming undone, this also makes it much easier to re-adjust the bend if for some reason you needed to.

If the bend is to be used in a decorative net where the ends might detract from the overall design they can be trimmed short and if made in a synthetic material the ends can be very carefully melted to seal the knot.

The Stacked, Interlaced Mesh Bend (Variation).
This version is almost identical to the previous join but the old and new lines are arranged slightly different from the previous bend. I do not think the lead of the new line coming out of this bend is as fair as in the previous bend.

Figure 9:
The old line (Pink) is passed through the next upper mesh from the rear and the new line (Yellow) is brought in from the rear and placed on top of and across the old line from right to left as shown.

Figure 10:
A hitch is made with the w’end of the old line around the legs of the upper mesh just above the new line and is tightened; completing the first mesh knot in this bend.

Figure 11:
A hitch is made with the w’end of the new line around the legs of the upper mesh just above finished mesh knot in the old line and is tightened; completing this version of the Stacked, Interlaced Mesh Bend,