The Turk's Head (Woggle)

More details about the The Turk's Head (Woggle)

The Turk's Head Knot

Uses: The Turk's Head (ABOK # 1303 - 5, p 232) is widely used as a slide, or woggle, for scout's scarves.

Tying it: The Turk's Head is usually tied around the hand. For the demonstration here, the braiding was all performed in front of the hand. This is not convenient and it is best to rotate the work round the hand as the braiding advances. To see how to finish the Turk's Head, move the mouse over: Seal, Ends, With, Heat.

Variations: There are many variations on the simple Turk's head. With a large enough loop, many more braids can be created before making the end follow the lead of the first round of braiding; more than one strand can be used; and the number of times the end follows the lead can be varied.

Finishing: Traditionally scout woggles were not secured. Supposedly, the woggle could be undone for use around the camp or, if made of a leather thong, for starting a fire using friction. However, most modern rope slides easily and the woggle may slip undone. As modern rope also melts, it is possible to fuse the ends after warming them using a candle. WARNING: Molten nylon is dangerously hot. Neither molten nylon, nor the recently heated rope end should come into contact with your skin!

Demonstration: The process of braiding using a single end is readily understood by practicing with a short length as shown on the left.

With a longer length, this process can be repeated many times until the end of the loop is reached.