72 THE INVISIBLE KNOT. 



pointing towards the looping-hook, I draw the 

 loose turn of the silk furthest from my left hand, 

 and nearest to the looping-wire, tight; then the 

 second ; then the third, and so on to the last, 

 laying each down close to the whipping com- 

 pleted, and to each other. I then gradually draw 

 tight the end of the silk which is lapped under 

 the turns, holding it the while near my breath to 

 soften the wax, thereby avoiding its sticking and 

 breaking midway under the folds, till all lies 

 close. I cut off the end of the silk ; rub the 

 whipping over with my fingers, first dry, and then 

 wet, to give a smoothness ; apply a coat of var- 

 nish, and all is complete. But another most 

 excellent and more handy plan of making an 

 invisible knot is this ; all but the finishing off, or 

 the knot itself being accomplished, you give the 

 silk another turn in the same direction very loosely 

 over the line, a long way from the close whipping, 

 and then, within this loose turn, wind the end of 

 the silk over the lines four or five times in the 

 same direction, working up towards the loop, and 

 lay its end down by the close part of the whip- 

 ping, thus : 



Fig. 6. 



