We’ve taken some deep dives into all things rope in this blog, exploring everything from what rope is to types of rope for bondage to how to treat jute rope . Now, let’s tie up some loose ends, both figuratively and literally…
Depending on your type of rope, there are various options for how to close off the ends of your rope. For any twisted ropes, which is the most prevalent choice for shibari, this is necessary to stop your rope from unraveling and turning back into a pile of yarns and fibres. How you choose to finish your rope will also slightly adapt some of the ways that you tie. The options are usually either stopper knots or whipping. (It’s also possible to tape the ends of your rope but, in practice, tape both comes apart and leaves residue on your rope, especially when it’s warm – not so practical when rope is in close proximity to the body.)
Stopper knots for shibari Stopper knots are useful not only to prevent rope ends from coming apart, but also when extending rope (for example, by tying a lark’s head/cow hitch or a collapsed lark’s head/square knot). It’s also a nice tactile indicator of reaching the ends of your rope, so you can improve rope handling while tying. Stopper knots come in many forms – more than are in general use within the rope bondage community. For the nerds among us, The Ashley Book of Knots (ABOK) remains the seminal work on knots, but the list below details some of the most commonly used stopper knots for shibari.
Overhand knot (ABOK #514) Overhand knots are the easiest and quickest way to knot your ends: you simply create a loop, put the end of the rope through the loop and tighten. Given the simplicity of this knot, it can sometimes come undone during use, but it’s super easy to retie. If for any reason you need to rebalance your rope or change your length, another advantage is that overhand knots can be quick to untie and retie.
Overhand knots are also one of the bulkier options for finishing rope ends, especially when compared to thistle knots or Matthew Walker knots (more on these below), which have a slimmer profile but are also much more complex to tie. To overcome this, if you unravel the individual strands of rope, you can flatten the overhand knot so that it takes up much less space.
Overhand Knot Flattened Overhand Knot Thistle Knot Thistle knots are actually a combination of two different knots: a crown knot (ABOK #670) and a wall knot (ABOK #671), which are spliced together to create a single decorative knot that functions as a stopper knot.
To tie a thistle knot, each strand of the rope is unraveled and tied together, starting with a crown knot into which a wall knot is spliced. This creates a really low profile, neat stopper knot that is balanced around the rope and tightens to around half the size of an overhand knot. Having a much smaller profile and being evenly distributed around the rope means thistle knots pull more smoothly through frictions than an overhand knot. When tying a thistle knot, it can be useful to tape your rope and each individual strand to prevent them from fraying.
While its compact size is a great benefit of a thistle knot, they are much harder to untie if you do have to rebalance a rope – in most cases, it’s easier to cut the knot off, losing some length. It also takes up a little more rope to tie compared to an overhand knot, so this will compromise some length (around 10cm/4 inches) at each end on pre-cut hanks.
Thistle knot Matthew Walker knot (ABOK #678) Matthew Walker knots, similar to thistle knots, are tied by separating the strands of rope and retying them into a low profile stopper knot. This gives a similar property to a thistle knot in that it has a neater profile than an overhand knot and passes through frictions swiftly and easily, but is also difficult to untie.
For a Matthew Walker knot, each strand is wrapped around the rope until it passes back through its own loop, which is then tightened progressively by pulling each strand until the knot collapses tightly.
Don’t ask who Matthew Walker was, as this isn't clear – he may have been a ship’s rigger in the Royal Navy, but there’s no certainty on this narrative.
Matter Walker knot Whipping We aren’t talking bullwhips and signal whips (although no judgement, if that's your thing) but rather another form of securing the ends of your rope. Whipping involves using twine to secure the ends of your rope, by wrapping around the rope and locking off. When whipping ropes, you can easily customise your rope by using different coloured twine to denote different lengths of rope for easy identification. You can also use a small amount of whipping on your bight to make it easy to find, although this will require a very small gauge twine or, better still, cotton.
Cotton, jute twine and embroidery yarn are all suitable materials for whipping your rope ends and come in a variety of colours. As whipping doesn’t use your rope, there's minimal extra bulk, so your rope will run freely, both through your frictions and your hands.
Whipped ends also benefit from slightly different techniques for extending ropes, to ensure safety and prevent slipping. You can’t use lark’s head extensions with whipped rope ends, but collapsed lark’s heads/square knots will work. Better still, for absolute safety, use a sheet bend – this is a little more bulky but gives reassurance that your rope joins will be secure.
Common whipping (ABOK #3443) Common whipping is the simplest form of whipping, formed by laying a loop of twine on your rope, with the loop towards the centre of your rope. Then take one end of your twine and wrap it over the loop. After 10 or 12 wraps, draw the end of the twine through your loop and pull this tight from both ends. This should draw the loop under the whipping and the two ends can be trimmed.
As this whipping just sits on top of your rope, it’s important to wind this as tightly as possible to secure it. That said, there is still a chance that this kind of whipping can be pulled from the end of your rope. Common whipping is relatively easy to tie with just your fingers.
Common whipping Sailmaker’s whipping (ABOK #3446) Sailmaker’s whipping is a more robust form of whipping, gaining its name from the type of whipping used on boat sails. It’s a significantly more secure option, through the use of frapping turns around the whipping, securing the whipping to the rope. You might require the use of a needle to get a really tight and secure fit.
Sailmaker’s whipping starts by creating a bight in your whipping twine, with one long and one short end. Place this bight over one strand of your rope, then wrap the long ends 10 or 12 turns around your rope. At this point, you need a needle to thread the whipping twine over your whipping (creating the frapping turns) and looping round the end of the rope strand and back though the centre of the rope before knotting off. As these extra turns cinch the whipping down, they add an extra layer of security, meaning this type of whipping is very unlikely to fail.
Both sailmaker’s whipping or common whipping can be paired with stopper knots to colour code your rope, if you want the benefit of both worlds. This would work for any twisted rope.
Sailmaker's whipping Alternative methods For the huge nerds among us (and if you haven’t noticed by now, that definitely includes myself), there are many other methods to finish your rope such as back splicing, triple crowns, double Matthew Walker, and a plethora of other forms of stopper knots. These are often impractical for use in shibari, so don’t worry that you’re missing out. When it comes to synthetic ropes, it’s also possible to melt rope ends, but I find this can be dangerous, as melted synthetics can leave some nasty burns.
If you do want to fall down the rabbit hole of stopper knots and finishing methods, grab a copy of The Ashley Book of Knots , a whole bunch of rope and have fun – after all, experimenting with what works for you is part of your rope journey and there are many ways to finish your rope ends.
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