Chain Stitch for storing synthetic rope

by MorTis

For storing synthetic rope, I use a chain stitch, this keep the rope nice and neat, it wont get tangled and easy to undo.

Needed: Any rope longer then 3ft.

Step 1: Find the center of your rope, fold it and create a bight.

Step 2: Take the bight, and lay it over your palm in your off hand (if your right handed, lay the bight over the top of your left hand, and tails down off the bottom of your hand to the floor)

Step 3: Next, wrap the tails around the top 3 fingers back around to the palm and cross the rope over itself. This will form am X across your palm with the rope. (The thumb will hold the rope up, and the pinkie will help keep it in place.)

Step 4: Now to make the start of the stitch, you going to push about 2 inches the tails that are forming the second part of the X, under the first band of rope, towards the fingers.

Step 5: Slip your 3 fingers out, while holding on the bite with your left and the the loop with you right hand and tighten up everything. And you will end up with a bight, a knot and a slipping loop, with the tails hanging.

Step 6: You want to place the knot in the palm of your left hand, with the bight facing over the top of your hand, and the tails and loops down from the bottom of your hand.

Step 7: Align your hand so that you can see the tails falling behind the loops

Step 8: Take you thumb and top 2 fingers from you right hand, place then through the loop and grab the tails

Step 9: Pull a 2 inches of the tail through the loop to make a second loop. Twist the loop away (counter clockwise) from you so that you fingers stay in the new loop and can see the tails through the new loop.

Step 10: repeat step 9 as many times as needed.

Finishing: When you get to the end of the tails, and you can not make anymore loops, you just pull the tails totally through the last loop and pull tight. This will lock off the end of the chain stitch and wont come apart.

UnStiching: To un-stitch a chain stitched rope, you can hold the last loops near the tails, and push the tails back through the last loop to *unlock it*. If you pull on the tails it will unreel itself.

Magic Trick: Style personally just hold the loops in my left-hand the pull with my right hand, because it looks like a magic trick of changes loops into a line, really impresses the bottom!

Whip Style: (aka, the bill Andrews) You can also hold the rope in one hand and throw it really hard into the air, keep a tight grip on the tails, and it will unfold like a transforming whip.

Storing rope : Chain stitching synthetic rope is a great way store your rope. And with a bight on one end, you can clip it into carbines to hold them.

Washing rope: To wash rope in a washer, which you should only do with synthetic rope like MFP, nylon or common natural braided rope like cotton. You should never wash hemp/jute etc in a washer or chain stitch natural twisted rope, because it will have a memory of it, and untwist some of it. Once you chain stitch you rope, you can through several ropes into a washer bag, or a pillow case, and tie a knot in the end to close it. Then throw 3 or 4 pillow cases into the washer with liquid bleach to be washed.

Start of a chain stitch