My Own Methods for Using Ropes

Are you able to have a session in private - that is, all by yourself - without interruption? If so, for how long?
Do you have a 'safe' friend who could contact you after a certain time to make sure you are safe and free of your bonds?
Got rope? How much and what kind?
Finally do you know much about tying knots? Do you know the difference between a slip knot, a half hitch and a square knot? Important to know how to properly tie a knot, as some slip and some do not.
I will be asking you to buy one additional piece of rope, as it is the linchpin for almost any scenario; but more on that later, it's not a big expense.
Do you like to use extra equipment, such as gags and dildos, clamps, etc.? You can add them in as you like.
If you're going to use ropes, you will at least have to learn how to store and clean them. I use those little mesh laundry bags women use for bras and things, or pillowcases, just to keep the ropes from tangling - unless you really get off on untangling them! Wash them in a mild, weak bleach solution in the washer and dry them like any other clothes in the dryer, and use a softener sheet. Then take them and coil them - you can hold the rope in one hand, bend your elbow 90 degrees, bring the rope around your elbow repeatedly until you have about 3' left, then take the large coils off your arm and wrap the rest of the rope around the coil in the middle, and half hitch it to hold it. Simple. If you will be using shorter rope, as I also do, you can just double and/or redouble it and tie it in a simple knot in the middle and hang it. If it's old rope, you may want to get new ones. I would tie them each to a solid object, a cellar pole, a tree, a door knob on a closed door, and give each one a really good pull, to test its strength, just in case. Old cotton rope, being organic, will rot over time. Wash and dry the new ropes as well.

I don't think it's a good idea to just jump right into a full-blown self-bondage rope session. I think you should do it in a few stages.
I know this is supposed to be about you getting yourself tied up, but I'm going to briefly give you some of my experience and opinions and then after that it will be all about you.
There are two basic ways to tie yourself up: standing and lying down; maybe a chair is a third, but not so easy and not as enjoyable - a little too comfortable. I prefer tying myself to a pole, facing it, and using lots of rope, as I will explain later. This allows for many physically stressful ties, and even minor suspensions.
Since my pole is in the cellar, it adds a whole lot of atmosphere as well. Lying down gives the false impression of not being restrained in one place, because if you do a good job of tying, movement will be extremely difficult.

Here's what Dr Bondage (right...) says about self-bondage on http://www.bedroombondage.com/bondageu/drbondage/: "I sometimes practice self-bondage, but I can never fully restrain myself. Do you have any cheap solutions that would help me fully restrain myself?
I receive a lot of questions on this topic. Police reports indicate that several people die every year from self-bondage. A common cause is the wrists get overly trapped (the planned escape technique fails) and the player eventually chokes to death on their gag. So, I don't volunteer any ideas on self-tying. Not that I'm opposed to people roping their legs and tying on crotchropes. It's just that, if you plan to secure your hands or wrists in any way, do it only when someone is in the room with you."

OK? So forewarned you are: Don't do this. Don't tie yourself up, don't tie your wrists.
right....

There are two essential pieces of rope that you must learn to use properly for my "method" to work. Choice of rope is personal; I like the 'fake' climbing rope; I got some in one of those discount stores, 100' for $8 US and after washing it a couple of times in a weak, warm bleach solution and drying it with softener sheets, it became soft and very usable; it's my personal favorite. Thinner rope is sort of OK, but less that 5/16" I find to be the cause of circulation cutoff.

The first rope tie you need to learn is the Karada. It can be done with 25' of rope, but that's maybe too short - I use 50' and simply keep looping with the extra until I'm satisfied; sometimes the excess can be used to tie you to other things, or limbs, etc. Oh yes, always mark your ropes in the middle, this helps in making them even in all ties. Just use a permanent marker and draw a band on the rope at its midpoint.
The Karada can be done in a non-knotted design; the traditional Karada is a series of knots that form the front loops; that's OK, and it keeps things from getting too tight, but also doesn't adjust as well to body movements. Some women enjoy a knot tied at the clitoris, for arousal; again, experiment - I'd say don't knot it the first few times.

Anyway, the very first loop goes over your head and onto your neck from behind - this first loop can also be knotted so that it never slips and chokes - but the way it will be secured to your body theoretically prevents that from happening, as you will see.

If you go to the wikipedia and search on "Japanese rope bondage" you will see a Karada just a ways down on the page. Anyway, after five loops, (and these loops will hang well below your crotch - remember they will be drawn up and stretched out across your chest and stomach, so it may start out feeling not right, but it is supposed to be too long before you secure it) the rope goes through your legs, and you now must make a choice - around the leg to the bottom loop, or up to the neck loop, under and out over it and then weave your way back down. Experiment with both; going through the bottom leg loop first, makes the rope end up being tied off high on your body. Going through the back of the neck first, the rope ends up back down near your crotch. Doesn't matter. Lots of things to do with the excess rope once you've tied the Karada; be creative.
Anyway, no matter which way the wrap goes, each rope passes around the back, loops through the next front loop on the opposite side, comes back around behind the back and goes to the next highest loop on the opposite side, so that you weave your way up your body trunk. Once you arrive at the top or bottom, you can start looping back the other way, or tie it off. You can wrap your breasts above and below, and/or cris-cross the ropes above and below your breasts, etc. Leave the extra rope for later maybe to tie to something else.

My one true invention in self-bondage is an eight-looped, thick rope waist tie. This harness has given me more pleasure (and frustration) than anything else. It is NOT easy to get right (no pun intended) and may take many tries to get perfected. This is 25' of half-inch cotton decorative rope. I got mine in a big hardware store. It must be soft and pliable and also needs to be washed in a warm bleach solution and dried, to take out the stretch and stiffness. There are two metal loops at the middle of the rope; they are there for two purposes: it can be used as a rope cinch by threading a rope through it in a specific manner (http://www.boundanna.com/html/frameset.html) called the "ring device." It can tighten a rope tied to it so that it can't release or loosen. I also use it to attach a secondary rope; more on that secondary rope later.
The idea of this harness is to secure your hands behind your back in a way that is escapable but difficult. Getting the size of the loops is the most important factor; spacing them is the next important thing. So here's how to do it: Take the rope, it doesn't matter where, and make a loop; tie that loop in a simple single knot, but don't tighten it. Place one hand in the loop and slide the loop to the widest point on your hand, usually by the lower thumb knuckle and the bump of skin on the outside of your palm. Note how loose or tight it is; remove your hand and adjust the loop until it fits tightly at that point. Test it with your hand, and tighten the knot so that it is very secure and your hand just barely fits through the loop. Make a mark on each of the ropes just below the knot, then untie the knot. See that distance between the two marks? That is the length of rope you will use to tie each knot! Now tie four knots exactly alike on each side of the rings. Notice there is a bit of distance between each loop. That is good and will occur naturally when you tighten the loops, but try to tie each loop as close as you can to the previous one; when you tighten you will get this little additional distance, and that is just what you want. If you plan for the distance, they will be too far apart. When you have the eight loops done, take one end of the rope and tie a small loop and tighten it so that the other end of the rope will just fit through it. Later, when you put it on, this will be how you secure it to your waist; the 8 loops go behind your back, and you tie it on securely in the front by putting the open end of the rope through the small loop, pulling tight and tying it off with two or more half hitches.
Now here's a potentially frustrating part; you MUST test this, because if you cannot escape, you are screwed. If you escape too easily, what's the fun in that? So you may end up taking it completely apart several times until it is just right. It's well worth the effort! You will notice that when you thread your hands through the loops, starting with the ones furthest from the rings, that your wrists are naturally drawn behind you and your hands end up almost touching in the middle of your lower back. My ropes are adjusted so that I can just barely get one finger from one hand onto the last loop on the other hand; this will help you to pull the other hand out of the loop and start your escape. Take your time and don't twist wildly, or you'll get a nasty rope burn; work your way slowly out, using your body to twist and maneuver the rope so you can one by one escape from the loops.
When you are testing, I suggest that you tie it loosely in front, so that if you can't get out, you can wiggle it off your hips and down your legs to escape, and then make adjustments. Once this is perfected, you are guaranteed to add at least five minutes to your bondage session, getting into and out of this one rope.
Whew - that's just two ropes!
I also like to bind my feet separately, starting around the ankles with three loops, then the foot with six, then back to the ankle higher up for two or three more and tie it off. You can then add a separate rope (I use a thinner rope) in-between the toes in several different ways; be creative, but I suggest leaving that little pinkie toe out of it - it's fragile and can be hurt easily.

Now you can bind your legs together by looping the rope around and around your legs in one place until you have about three feet of rope left, then put loops around just the rope between your legs to tighten them until you have tightened it so that it can't slip. You can do this at the ankle, below and above the knee, and at the top of the thighs, and anywhere else you like.
If you are using a pole, you can then attach yourself to the pole in various ways. I use a chair facing the pole to start. Then I can secure my feet and legs to the pole with ease. I like to double the rope, loop it behind the pole and pull the rope through itself. This gives you two pieces of rope tied tightly to the pole. You can use each in a different direction; I like to use it doubled as if it were one piece of rope. You can simply go over and under the loops already on your legs and pull them tight to the pole. Position your feet carefully, as once they're tight, that's where they'll stay. I like to be on tiptoes, as it stresses the body. After tying my knees, I put a loop on the pole at waist height and then loop that around my waist, around the pole and around my waist a second time. Then I draw that all tight as I slowly stand up, adjusting the rope as I rise. That way you can secure yourself to the pole at the waist in a safe manner. Once standing, push the chair away and secure the waist rope. You can simply loop until gone and tie it off to the pole, or you can make it tighter by looping around the ropes on your waist in front of the pole and draw them closer together. Then you can tie your chest in the same manner. I do not suggest you tie your neck to the pole, although ropes around the neck that only contact the back of the neck are much safer than any rope to the front of the throat - in fact, NEVER let a rope go in front of your throat with any pressure. A loop that goes from the back of the neck that is tied in front and then pulled down and secured is relatively safer. Don't do that either. I do.
You can also secure your head to the pole, either with rope of a long folded cloth or whatever. Put something between the pole and your forehead if you try this - a cloth headband, a sponge, something.
Oh- between the waist tie and the chest tie, I sometimes put two pre-tied ropes around my upper torso. They are tied so that when my arms are inside them they are tight. I don't put my arms inside until the last possible moment.
Here you can add anything else you like to use in the way of equipment; your choice. I will describe one item I made. It's a penis gag. I use A&E's silk 6" cock and balls - it is flavored, it is flexible and challenging. I have a respirator like painters use, with one strap that goes low behind the neck and a second that goes higher on the head, and it normally holds a large paper and plastic round filter in the front. With the filter off, there is a 1.5" hole that the silicon cock just fits into snugly. Inserted facing inward, it can be adjusted for comfort so that it just touches or goes deeper. For a guy, you can add a butt plug, and you can also add some sort of restraint to your genitals. For a gal, well you know what your options are! I know one woman that likes clamps that go on the opposite side of the pole and attach to her nipples so that any movement is transferred through them to her breasts; she also likes a double dildo tied snugly in place.
The final step is to slide your hands into the loops on the waist restraint we started with. Close your eyes and go to that place wher you most enjoy being restrained.