If you're looking for the "bowling knot," you almost certainly mean the bowline. It's spelled like "bow line" but pronounced BOH-lin, which is why it's so often heard and searched as "bowling knot." It has nothing to do with ten-pin bowling: it's a sailing knot that makes a fixed loop at the end of a rope.
Why the bowline is so useful
- The loop doesn't slip or tighten under load.
- It's easy to untie afterwards, even after holding a lot of weight.
- It's quick to tie once you know it.
Sailors use it to tie a line to a ring or post, campers use it for tarps and hanging food bags, and it's a standard knot in scouting.
How to tie it
The classic way to remember it is "the rabbit comes out of the hole, goes around the tree and back down the hole." The "tree" is the long standing part of the rope, the "rabbit" is the free end.
- Make the hole: form a small overhand loop in the standing part, with the part leading to the free end lying on top.
- Out of the hole: pass the free end up through that small loop from underneath. The amount you pull through sets the size of the final loop.
- Around the tree: take the free end behind the standing part.
- Back down the hole: bring the free end back down through the small loop, alongside itself.
Hold the free end and the side of the big loop together and pull the standing part to tighten.
Check it
- The free end should finish inside the big loop. If it's outside, you've tied a "left-handed" or "cowboy" bowline, which still holds but is less secure.
- Leave a tail of at least several rope diameters.
- The bowline can shake loose when it isn't under load, so for anything safety-critical, such as climbing, use a knot designed for that and get proper instruction.
Knots that actually matter in bowling
Ten-pin bowlers rarely need knots, apart from tying their shoes tight enough that the slide foot doesn't shift. If you came here for bowling help, the how to throw a bowling ball guide is a good place to start.