Creating a beautiful pattern on a folded leg represents an interesting challenge. The shape of the knee is much more unforgiving for rope slipping than other parts of the body that have more volume and curves to work with. A solid design along with good tension and control is the key to keep the rope in place for the prettiest tie..

Diamond Frog Tie

There are many ways to draw diamonds on the leg, each of them will bring an interesting challenge. Using the open diamond pattern is an interesting one as it will progressively add tension and get tighter on the leg. You can also design your own pattern using hitches to draw different shapes.

Look back at the patterns from previous chapters such as Day 17 and see how you can adapt them for the shape of the folded leg.

Practice Time!

Create your own diamond pattern frog tie design.

Self-evaluation checklist:

  • Are there any painful sensations? In particular from overextension at the knee or on the front of the tibia bone.
  • Is the leg fully bent, can the leg still move at the knee?
  • Frictions are tight and compact with no undesired twists
  • Tension is even across the tie.
  • Move the leg around, does the tie stay in place?
  • Pull the rope in different directions; how does it hold?
  • How is the blood circulation? Does the foot become numb after some time?

Exploration ideas:

  • Try different techniques to create the shape – Opening diamonds, drawing diamonds with X shapes, making a spiral and completing the diamonds.
  • Different sizes/numbers of diamonds.
  • Different levels of tightness to see what stays the most in place.
  • What are there other shapes that would be interesting to draw with rope?

Being Tied: Nerves in Futomomos – sansblague

When tied really tightly in a futomomo, it might happen that your foot starts to go a bit numb after a while. If it feels like normal pins and needles that you could also get from sitting in an uncomfortable position, it is usually no problem. If unfamiliar and unpleasant sensations appear, inform the person tying you and choose to untie rather than to push yourself.

There is one particular nerve to be aware of when it comes to futomomos. Approximately four fingers diagonally down on the outside of the leg from the edge of your kneecap, there is a little boney lump. Take a moment to palpate it together with the one tying you, and you will probably discover that pressing on it can create some unpleasant sensations running down your leg. What you feel is the common peroneal nerve, and it supplies both sensation and motor functions all the way down to your foot. It runs very superficially over this boney lump, and even though you are unlikely to hurt it while working on the floor, it is better to take the habit to avoid putting rope there. Help the one tying you to remember to keep the ropes on your muscles, away from the boney structures around your knee caps.

Inspirations and Resources

Credit: Open diamonds – M/R: Ebi McKnotty P: AlexK7 – XXX diamonds – M: AlexK7 R/P: Ebi McKnotty – Spiral diamonds M: Miss_Soffia R/P: Ebi McKnotty


Let’s continue with Chaos

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