Create Your Own Jump Rope

You can make a one person jump rope or gather your friends and create your very own Double Dutch team. In fact, world class jump roping exists right here in South Carolina. Since 1985, South Carolina has been home of internationally recognized Double Dutch teams. Good luck and stay hydrated!

Learn more about the history of South Carolina Double Dutch at these links:

• Double Dutch Forces (from 2019)
• Holman's Double Dutch Force's Salayah Walker Wins in World Championship (from 2016)
• Double Dutch Forces Jumping the World Over (from 2008)

MATERIALS

• Tape
• Scissors
• Plastic bags (27 bags will yield a rope about 9 feet long)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Take a plastic bag and place the bag flat on the floor

2. Cut the handles and bottom off of the bag

3. Make a circle with the plastic bag by opening it up and then smooshing it flat

4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 for all bags

5. Divide the circles into 3 piles - you should have the same number of circles in each pile

6. Take 2 circles and overlap them

7. Pull the overlapping circles through each other, like the photos, until you have attached all the circles in one pile to each other

8. Repeat steps 6 & 7 for the other two piles of circles; you should have three strands when you are done

9. Gather one end of each strand and tape them together into a handle, which you can decorate and personalize if you like

11. Tape the handle to something sturdy and braid the three strands together tightly

How To Braid

• Braiding is nothing more than moving the left strand into the middle position then moving the right strand into the middle position and repeating
• The strands in the photos have been labelled so that you can see where each strand goes

12. When you're done braiding, tape the end together into a handle and decorate if you like

NOTES

• If you braid three standard grocery bags together, your braid will be just over a foot long
• Basic jump rope lengths for a person's height
  • A person less than 4'9" tall needs about 7 feet of rope (21 bags)
  • 4'10" to 5'3" tall needs about 8 feet of rope (24 bags)
  • 5'4" to 5'11" tall needs about 9 feet of rope (27 bags)
  • 6' to 6'4" tall needs about 10 feet of rope (30 bags)
• The tighter you make your braid, the sturdier your rope will be
• If you get bags from several different retailers, you can make multi-colored jump ropes