How to Make a Bondage Rope Suit

A rope suit is another word for a Karada, a simple garment that is used as part of bondage activities and is traditionally worn by women. The Karada is part of Shibari, a Japanese form of bondage. Karada literally translates to body. The rope suit is worn mainly around the torso with a loop around the neck and a length between the legs. Alternate versions can be worn with the rope wrapped around the upper thighs.

Step 1

Locate the midpoint of your length of rope. Mark this spot by tying a small piece of thread around it or using a permanent marker to make a line. While 25 feet of rope should be adequate to construct a rope suit for most women, larger women may require a longer length of rope. Extra rope can always be trimmed or tied off later or used as part of bondage activities.

Step 2

Drape the rope around the back of the neck and bring the ends over the shoulders with the midpoint at the base of the neck. Bring the ends of the rope over each other and twist three times so that the twists sit on the chest about 5 inches from the neck.

Step 3

Bring both ends of the rope through the legs and up between the buttocks. Pull each rope end apart from the other toward the sides of the body.

Step 4

Wrap each end around the hip then through the lowest twist on the front of the suit. Do not pull the rope tight as you pull the rope ends back and across each other across the back. Bring each end back around to the front and wrap through the middle twist. Bring the ends back across the back once again then wrap through the top twist.

Step 5

Wrap or tie off the rope ends. If you have extra rope, you can drape it down the center of the back and wrap it around or tie it to one of the back cross sections.

Sources:

• The Hishi Karada; A Body Weave; Tatu; 2005 [http://www.japaneseropeart.com/RopeArt/Hishi_Karada/index.html]
• Franklin Veaux's Journal; How to Make a Rope Harness . . . ; February 5, 2007[http://tacit.livejournal.com/199593.html]