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Holding one end of each rope in each hand, pass the left rope over the right, and tuck under. Then pass the same rope, now in the right hand, over the left rope, and tuck under.

It is common to chant "Left over Right and Under, Right over Left and Under" when tying the knot. (This can also be performed as "Right over Left and Under, Left over Right and Under".)

The reef knot can easliy be undone by gripping one loose end, and pulling it back over the knot, in the opposite direction, thus straightening the rope which is pulled. The other rope forms a Lark's Head knot, and slips off the tugged rope.

The knot gets its name from its use on sailing ships, when the sails were "reefed" - rolled up and tied to the cross spar with a reef knot. To release the sail, the sailors would climb the rigging, and work their way along the cross spar, pulling the top end of the reef knot down. They only had to use one hand, holding on with the other. The weight of the sail would cause the reef knot to slip, and the sail would be released.