Bed Sheet Escape Rope

Intro: Bed Sheet Escape Rope

The idea behind this experiment was to explore rope braided out of bed sheets and see if it would be an effective means of escape.

A. Could a rope braided out of one bed sheet hold my weight?
B. How long would this sheet rope be?
C. How long would it take to make?

STEP 1: Get a Sheet

I picked this one up a a thrift store for the project for about one dollar. However, the concept behind using this material is that it is readily available in many locations you might want to escape from (your parent's house, a bad date, prison etc.)

STEP 2: Cut the Sheet for Making Strips

I cut the end of the sheet about three inches from the side. If I were to repeat the project I would try using wider strips.

STEP 3: Tear a Strip of Fabric of the Sheet

The cloth should tear into relatively straight strips. However, in a covert situation this might not be the best option because it was somewhat noisy.

STEP 4: Braid the Strips Into a Rope

I used standard flat braiding method with three strips. A round braid might create a stronger rope. If you tie off one end of the rope braiding will be faster. This was the most time intensive part of the process.

STEP 5: Test the Rope.

An hour later I was finished with my initial rope. This rope would have been long enough to scale a three story building, however it was not strong enough to support my body (100 Kilos, 220 pounds).

STEP 6: Sucess

I cut the long rope into three equal pieces, and then braided these together (additional 15 minutes). This meant that my rope was now only long enough to climb out of a one story building.

Lesson, a rope braided out of bed sheets would not be effective for escaping from situations where time was a limiting factor.

If I had to escape out of my of my third floor bedroom because of fire or other natural disaster braiding a rope out of bed sheets would not the solution. Other escape methods to contemplate include knotting whole sheets, towels, or jeans together. However, I should probably keep a prefabricated rope on hand for now.

Comments

[wildflowerwhimsy]

Confuseddddd. How did you make a rope long enough to climb out a 3 story building out of one sheet? From what i understand you cut it into three equal pieces top to bottom and braided them together? Wouldn't that just be one story right there? Please answer !!!!!

[achaplain]

funny, entertaining as well and informational. .... must had a really bad date to think of this one lol.

[PKTraceur]

Second picture, step five... i could jump up and climb those bars....

[King Crab]

Lol, I love how you're going down a rope when there are stairs right behind you. :D

[jackfr0st]

it looks like you tied your rope to the fire escape stairs... i would just use the stairs bub. lol jk. we did this, but we had more sheet, and we did a 5 strand braid, we got me down, im 110 punds, it was a 3 storie building. oh, and your arms get pretty tired after making this, so forget about climbing.

[trebuchet03]

Awesome, I'll remember to forward this to the next damsel in distress I meet...

[Fenwick]

Heck, with just a one story drop, you'd be better just jumping off the balcony.

[Wolfpack871]

Niiiice. I always thought you couldn't do it. Will it hold my weight? I'm 6' 1" 160

[randofo]

Well, that answers that question. Well done.

[whatsisface]

Cool, I always wondered if this was possible.