You’re new to BDSM, but bondage classes seem a bit too complex for you to dive in headfirst? Here’s a simple bondage technique that will allow you to tie your partner’s wrists with a rope. And do so safely, with a rather aesthetically pleasing result.
To do this, you just need to memorise a few easy-to-follow steps.
In publishing this tutorial, we don’t claim to be great experts in bondage, or BDSM in general. This is a mini bondage tutorial for and by newbies, which will allow you to make simple rope handcuffs, without too much fuss.
If you want to learn more elaborate techniques, you should look into shibari or kinbaku classes, workshops, or private lessons. A little online tutorial isn’t always enough. A list of places where you can learn shibari, organised by city, is available on the Morphée Kinbaku website.
Choosing the right rope for tying wrists
You can choose a cotton bondage rope. These are often found in sex shops, especially in many classic bondage kits.
But purists will prefer hemp or linen ropes, specifically treated for bondage. These can be bought in BDSM-focused shops, on Etsy, or you can make them yourself. We’ll probably come back to this topic in a future article.
Of course, no ropes straight from the local DIY store, otherwise you’re guaranteed rope burn.
The length of the rope is important. Indeed, if it’s too long, it will get tangled more easily and become a pain to handle. Depending on the width of your partner’s wrists, allow for two to three metres, no more.
Before you start
First of all, remember that any BDSM practice, even softcore, requires trust and taking precautions to avoid accidents.
Throughout the experience, make sure your partner is comfortable:
- Firstly, psychologically. Indeed, having restricted movement can cause feelings of panic in some people.
- But also physically: check they don’t have any cramps, and that their fingers aren’t turning unusually red.
If there’s any problem, untie them quickly. Have a pair of round-tipped scissors handy to remove the ropes as quickly as possible if needed, without risking injury to your partner.
Tutorial for tying your partner’s wrists
Fold the rope in half to form a loop.
Around your partner’s wrists, pass both ends of the rope through the loop. Pull, but not too tight: you must not cut off their blood circulation.
Keep both ends of the rope in your hand. Wrap them twice around your partner’s wrists, in the opposite direction to the loop. Again, don’t pull too tight.
Once you’ve made two wraps, pass both ends of the rope through the loop.
Separate the two ends of the rope. Pass each one between the wrists, one from the top, the other from the bottom.
With each of the two strands of rope, make two wraps in opposite directions around the ropes encircling the wrists.
Tie the two strands together.
Tie them again, and pull on both ends of the rope to tighten the knot.
The result
The result is ties that won’t tighten or loosen on their own. Both wrists are tied together, but blood circulation isn’t cut off.
It’s certainly not the most stylish bondage technique, but it has the merit of being simple to master. And it can also work for tying ankles.
By the way, to take the photos that illustrate this article, it was Him, who has little patience with knots, who had to do it without any prior practice (those are my wrists in the photo, and I’d be quite incapable of tying myself up). And despite my rather muddled explanations, he managed to achieve the desired result without any trouble.
