Guide: Bondage Ropes

Bondage is the first aspect of the BDSM activities (Bondage, Dominance, Submission, and Masochism) where the dom has absolute power and the submissive one is under control.

Safety in Play

In general, BDSM requires more attention during plays. This is more important in restraining games like bondage. Safety should always be your priority and more important than pleasure. 

Be aware of risks

Always remember that there will be various risks during the play. Top or bottom (dom or sub), it is your responsibility to manage the risks.  

Safewords/gestures

Have a safe word or gesture before the play. If the bottom is gagged, she still needs to tell the top something is wrong. She should have something to use as a safe word in case of danger. A bell repeated screams or motions. The top should always be watching for these safe words/gestures.

Something to cut the rope

In case of emergency, you have to cut the rope. Prepare the cutting object somewhere you can reach quickly. It can be an EMT shear, hook blade, etc. Depending on the material of the rope, you may need a different cutting tool. Practice the tool on the material before the play to be sure it is appropriate for the purpose.

Communication is a must

The bottom should communicate the necessary details of her medical, physical, and emotional state of herself before the play begins. 

The bottom should warn the top about the issues that are off the limits, too painful, and/or anything that is going bad during the game. Warning Top before something serious happens will let him react properly and fix the situation.

Bottom Should know and specify what she wants to do, her desires, her limitations (what is off-limits in any case), physical capabilities, flexibility, strength, and any limitations

DO NOT put the knot in the middle of the bottom’s spine in case she will lay on their back.

DO NOT put the knot in the bottom armpit. 

Bondage Rope Material

When it is about choosing the bondage rope, there are several things to consider. For example; cost, ease of use, diameter, health issues (allergy), level of play like soft play or full-blown bondage, and so on. So, if you are a beginner, you can start simple and choose a relatively cheap rope for your BDSM bondage game. 

Types of Bondage Rope

Cotton:  It is cheap, washable, easily found even in hardware shops, strong and even you can dye it. It is lightweight and has a low probability to cause a burn. It won’t cause allergy in most cases. On the other hand, it is not for beginners. It gets dirty quickly. Not recommended for suspension while it is ok for wrist/ankle tie.

Hemp is another popular rope with a natural “look”. The smell of it can be a NO for some. It can be also found in some eco-friendly shops where other hemp products are sold. The care of the hemp rope is easier than jute and it is stronger. A bit heavier than jute. It is a natural fiber rope

Jute ropes are most favored and used by Shibari (Japanese Bondage) fans. Jute is relatively expensive but it has a unique smell. It can be dyed, easy to unknot and quality improves as it is used. It is smooth and easy to tie. Softer than hemp ropes. 

Linen/Flax ropes are easy to tie, flexible, and have good strength. They cause almost no allergies, they are softer than hemp and jute robes but still, they may cause some marks. They are expensive and hard to clean. 

Silk Ropes are the most expensive ones. It has okay durability. Flexible and soft ropes. It has low stretch.

Bamboo Ropes are another type of luxury rope. It has less grip than silk. It is soft flexible and has antibacterial properties. 

 MANILA, SISAL, COIR. Cheaper alternatives. Leaves marks and has a harsh tooth which some like and some do not. They are not easy to clean and not very durable. 

There are also synthetic ropes like nylon, polyester, paracord, synthetic hemp/hempex, MFP Multifilament polypropylene ropes. Usually, these are cheaper, easier to clean, durable, and cause no allergies. However, they may cause rope burn, not ok for suspension, and poor diameter options. 

If you are not sure what kind of bondage rope you need, you can try a Sample Pack and see what fits you.

How to tie ropes for bondage

I’m a beginner, how much rope do I need?

The length of the rope depends on what type of ties you are planning to do and on who you are tying. Still, here are a few tips for you. 

Tips: Please keep in your mind that most of the ties are done with half-folded rope. 

Wrist and/or ankle cuffs require a 10 to 15ft rope length in most cases to tie wrists and ankles. If the cuffs are going to be attached to furniture, the distance between the limb and tie-off point should be considered for choosing rope length. 

For chest ties and hip harnesses, you can choose a loop around the fullest of the hip of the person to be tied. Six times longer than the measurement is enough length of the rope. 

For full-body harnesses: Measure a loop from the shoulder, down between the legs, and back to the shoulder. Body harnesses will need roughly six or seven times the shoulder-crotch loop measurement.

What Size Rope is Needed?

For most ties and people, a 6mm diameter rope is perfectly fine. A 6mm is a good bondage rope diameter to start and learn with. 

To apply more pressure over a wider surface, you can choose an 8mm rope. It is also used to tie larger or muscular bodies. 8mm ropes are bulkier and require more length to do the tie work, so consider buying longer ropes to do the same tie 6mm does.

4mm ties are mostly used for hands and feet, heads and face, or genitals. 

Roppe burns and Marks

Rope burns do not occur in normal Rope Bondage games. Burns happen mostly in cases when the rope is pulled very quickly across the skin. Unless it is the aim of the action, you do not pull the rope quickly to cause rope burn in such activities. 

Rope marks can be experienced by way of compression marks. These are temporary marks and will heal in a short period. 

Handspun silk or bamboo ropes are good for the ones who are into the game but want to avoid marks