The chain sinnet is a type of macrame knot that allows you to make a braid out of a single strand of rope.

This is a simple easy way to store rope that has several advantages.

It shortens up the length of rope for storage or while in use

It is a great way to store rope because it resists tangles and knots

It is a cheap an easy way to entertain little kids by letting them unravel it

Step 1: Start With a Basic Slip Knot

Start with a loop

pass the working end up through the loop and pull to tighten

Step 2: Making the Chain Sinnet

take the working end and pass it through the loop of the slip knot

pull to tighten creating a new loop

wash .. rinse .. repeat

Step 3: Finishing the Chain

when you have shortened up your rope sufficiently .. or come to the end (which ever comes first)

take the working end of your rope and pass it all the way through the loop

pull to tighten

Step 4: Reducing Your Rope

There is no exact reduction value because it will vary depending on how thick your rope is, and also how tightly you weave your chain sinnet, but on average it is around a 5:1 reduction.

I started with a 50 foot length of rope and after doing one pass of the chain sinnet weave my rope was about 10 feet long.

weaving it a second time reduced it from 10 feet down to just over 2 feet.

weaving it a third time made it a bundle about 6 inches long (that looked like a tangled mess but still came apart easily).

In order to unravel the rope all you need to do is pull the working end of the rope back through the last loop.

pull working end of the rope until you have unraveled as much of the chain as you need.