Duct Tape Cordage

Cordage has been used for centuries all around the world. It is a simple way of making a strong rope that can be used in a wide variety of ways. The method I will show here is usually used to make natural cordage out of bark or grass, but this duct tape rope is a little different. It comes together much quicker and very strong and flexible.

You really only need a roll of duct tape for this project. If you don't like tearing the tape yourself, you could use some scissors, as well.

Start by tearing a strip of tape. I don't really like to make these any more than 1 foot long. Longer than that, and they get hard to work with.

Tear this strip in half so you have 2 thin pieces.

Fold each of your strips in half long ways. The nicer you make this fold, the better your end rope will look. If you have overlap, your end rope might be a bit sticky.

I usually add a second foot long piece before getting started by tearing another strips of tape and attaching it to the one I folded to make a longer piece. (see the second and third pictures). After this, you should have two 2-foot long, thin strip of duct tape.

Attach these two at one end with a small piece of tape.

The video explains it well, but just in case you would like written instructions:

Hold the finished end in your nondominant hand. (At the start this will be the part where you taped the two strands together.

Use your other hand to twist the top strand away from you one or two times. I like to make this twist pretty tight.

Then, grab both strands with your dominant hand and twist them towards you.

Basically, you should be making twists that go in two different directions. This will lock it in place and generally keep things from unraveling.

Continue until you use up the tape you have connected.

Before you run out of tape, you can add more on. Do this the same way you did at the beginning.

Once your cordage is your desired length, simply tape the two strands together. You can stop here and have a thin, but strong piece of rope that is useful for all kinds of things. I actually use mine to store the rest of my tape as you can see in the picture. I'd love to hear in the comments what you use it for.

If you need an even stronger rope, continue to the next step.

If you need a stronger rope, you can make two of the cords a similar length, as shown before, then twist them together. Watch the video to see how it's done.