I have a furniture remover’s blanket that I would like to roll up with rope. The only requirements would be easy to tie and easy to spill. What would you suggest? The closest I have got from Clifford Ashley’s book is a series of half hitches. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how to tie up the two ends of the rope.
How big and bulky is your “blanket”? If it’s not too big, it seems like you could just tie it up with a cord or two using the knot you use to tie your shoes, such as a doubly-slipped reef knot. Keep the roll compact and tight with your knee as you apply the knot.
I have done a blanket roll where I roll the blanket into itself. I fold the blanket into thirds (or fourths), to make a long narrow shape. I then roll it like a sleeping bag. Just before I get to the end, I fold over the last few feet of blanket toward the roll, and open up a pocket in the folds of the blanket. Then I roll the blanket into the pocket. It holds without a tie off, makes a convenient handle (for a short period of time), and opens up easy. If I need a more substantial handle, I tie a rope around it with a reef knot.
It might take a few tries to get a good feel for how much material to fold over to make the pocket, but this is a very clean blanket roll.
When I was in Australia we used swags, provided by the travel compagny.
Most of them where tied with a piece of rope, even the one used by the guide.
These pieces of rope had an eye (bowline or overhand loop) in one end and the other end was melted or taped to avoid fraying.
To tie the rope, you would pull the end through the loop and make a slipknot, round the rope.
To secure it further you could make a monkeychain of two or three loops long, longer was not needed at all.
This way you could pull the rope rather good tight and would not slip when tied.
In the photo you can see the pile of swags, between unloading and setting up camp.