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Skipping rope

Have fun and exercise

Done in 20mins
Skill level basic

Skipping ropes are a great training tool – for your kids and for you. All you need are some bread bags to make it. Build your health and prevent all kinds of diseases.

Children using skipping rope
Children using skipping rope

Published under CC:BY-SA by

Singakwenza

Author · Julie Hay

What you need

Bread bags and scissors
Bread bags and scissors

How you make it

Cut off the top of the bread bags

Cutting off the uneven and broken top
Cutting off the uneven and broken top

Lay the bread bags flat with the opening on the right hand side. Cut off the top to make the edges even.

Cut off the bottom of the bag next to the fold line

Cutting off the bottom straight above the fold line
Cutting off the bottom straight above the fold line

Collect the pieces you cut off in another bag

Cut-offs from one bread bag
Cut-offs from one bread bag

Collect the off-cuts in a bag and check out our other guide to learn how to make a ball from these.

Cut bread bags into rings

Cutting a 3cm strip straight across the bag making rings
Cutting a 3cm strip straight across the bag making rings

Cut strips straight across the bread bag, approximately 3cm wide from the opening. These strips will make rings.

Continue cutting strips

Cutting the last few strips
Cutting the last few strips

Continue cutting these strips until the bottom of the bag is reached.

Repeat: Cut all bags into strips

A pile of strips
A pile of strips

To save time, you can place a few bags on top of each other and cut more strips at the same time.

Join rings into strands

2 rings
2 rings

Take two rings. Place one ring through the other to form a “T” shape.

Form 2 rings into T shape
Form 2 rings into T shape

Thread the right hand part of the “T” through the left hand part of the “T” and pull the base of the “T” to join the two rings together

Thread the right hand part of the T through the left hand part of the T
Thread the right hand part of the T through the left hand part of the T
Pull the base of the T
Pull the base of the T
Join the two rings together
Join the two rings together

Continue joining rings together until there are 8 rings joined in a row. We call this 1 strand.
Make sure all your knots are pulled tight and small.

Continue joining rings together
Continue joining rings together
until you have a strand
until you have a strand

Make all the strands

Put aside that strand and start a new one
Put aside that strand and start a new one

Depending on what you are making will determine how many strands you need:

  • For a skipping rope for one person, you need 18 strands.
  • For a skipping rope for a group, you need 27 or 36 strands.

Tie together 9 strands

Hold the end of 9 strands
Hold the end of 9 strands

Hold the end of 9 strands, making sure the tops of each strand are not in line with each other and tie the strands together using an overhand knot.
🦊
Having them NOT in line makes sure the knots joining the rings are not in the same place.

Make an overhand knot
Make an overhand knot
Strand with knot
Strand with knot

Plait the strands

Group your strands ad start plaiting
Group your strands ad start plaiting

Group your strands into 3, the skipping rope has 3 strands on the left, 3 in the middle, 3 on the right.

Continue plaiting
Continue plaiting

Plait them tightly all at the same time.

Continue with the next strands

Connect next strand
Connect next strand

Stop plaiting before you reach the end, allowing space to join more strands to make a longer rope.
Take the next set of 9 strands and join them one at a time to each strand.
Make a “T” then take the very end of the strand through the loop, and tighten. Once every strand has been lengthened, continue plaiting.
🦊
For the long skipping rope, you have to do this twice.

Go on plaiting
Go on plaiting

Tie up your rope

Tie an overhand knot before you run out of all the strands
Tie an overhand knot before you run out of all the strands

Tie an overhand knot before you run out of all the strands

Trim off both ends to make them neat

Trim off ends
Trim off ends
Finished product
Finished product

How you use it

Well done! You have made a beautiful skipping rope.

Now it’s time to have fun, sing and sweat.

You can use the skipping rope on your own or with a group.

Jumping kids
Jumping kids
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Notes

Get to know our partner Singakwenza Early Childhood Education and find some more interesting guides on how to make children’s toys.

More guides to try

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