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There are two techniques that may be utilized to create one-hand square knots. Both techniques are acceptable and can be performed quickly. Technique one offers superior control over the end of the free strand during the creation of the first throw. For this reason, the authors favor this method. However, the first throw described in technique two seems to be easier for novice surgeons to master. In this topic you will learn how to perform both techniques. Surgeons generally find one technique easier to perform than the other and will adopt that method. Try each technique and decide which one works best in your hands. 

WHICH HAND SHOULD I USE?

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TECHNIQUE 2: LEFT-HANDED, ONE-HAND TIE 

TECHNIQUE 1: LEFT-HANDED, ONE-HAND TIE 

TIPS FOR ONE-HANDED TIES

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TECHNIQUE 1: LEFT-HANDED, ONE-HAND TIE 

TIPS FOR ONE-HANDED TIES

TECHNIQUE 2: LEFT-HANDED, ONE-HAND TIE 

Tips For One-Handed TiesEndFragment     EndFragment

1. Keep the loop you have created with each throw open until the transfer of the short strand is complete and you begin your horizontal tension on the two strands to tighten the loop.  2. Never pull up or away from the knot as you tension the knot.  3. It must be emphasized that the directions the hands travel must be reversed and kept low from one throw to the next to ensure that that the knot formed will be flat and square. Otherwise, insecure half-hitches inevitably result. This is the main reason novice surgeons learn two-handed knot tying first, because it is easier to maintain equal tension on both strands during the creation of each throw and each knot. 4. If you want more throws on top of a one-handed square knot, repeat the sequence described previously.