Rope tattoo ideas

517 photos and flash · 54% Traditional, 11% Lettering · Forearm most common

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Black and grey Japanese style tattoo of a shark with an anchor and rope amid curling waves, covering a person's upper arm and shoulder.
Shark, anchor and waves on upper arm
Black and grey traditional style flash sheet showing a shield with three horses and an eagle at the top, with a swallow, key, dagger, rose, skull, bicycle and other small designs below.
Traditional flash sheet with horses, eagle and dagger
Traditional style anchor flash design with a red heart and a banner reading DAD, drawn in red, blue and yellow with bold black outlines.
Traditional anchor and heart with DAD banner
Traditional-style flash design of red and yellow roses and rope framing a lettered sign on a aged yellow background, with no body part shown.
Roses and rope sign flash design
Two matching forearm tattoos: a red winged heart with script text on the left, and a red and grey anchor with a rope coil and script text on the right.
Matching heart and anchor quote tattoos on forearms
Coloured pencil drawing of a sailing ship on waves inside a rope-framed spade shape, with a rope knot and lotus-like shape below, in a traditional style.
Sailing ship in a rope-framed heart design
Traditional style tattoo of a moustached man with slicked hair inside a rope frame, above a red rose with green leaves, on an upper arm.
Traditional man portrait and rose on an upper arm
Colour traditional tattoo of an anchor wrapped in rope with a teal wash behind it, on the top of a foot below the toes.
Anchor and rope on the foot
Black and grey drawing of a traditional anchor with a rope coiled around the shaft and a knot at the top, on a plain light grey background.
Anchor with rope design
Sheet of fourteen black ink anchor designs on a beige paper background, several with rope, rings or a ship's wheel, in a traditional hand-drawn style.
Anchor designs on a flash sheet
Traditional style tattoo of a grey shaded anchor wrapped in red rope forming a heart, on the lower leg.
Anchor wrapped in a red rope heart on the leg
Traditional colour tattoo of an anchor and ship wheel within a rope heart, framed by orange flowers, teal leaves and the words INTO THE SEA, on the thigh.
Anchor and ship wheel in a rope heart
Black ink flash sheet in a traditional style showing two female heads with daggers, barbed wire, clasped hands, a sailing ship and birds.
Traditional flash sheet with ship, daggers and barbed wire
Pencil sketch of a traditional style anchor tattoo design, wrapped in rope with a heart, scrollwork and two flowers.
Anchor with rope and flowers sketch
Black and grey traditional anchor tattoo with rope, a banner reading EST. and the date 1970 above, on a forearm.
Anchor with rope and 1970 est. banner on a forearm
Traditional-style nautical design of two swallows, a rope-edged anchor and roses, burned into a pale wooden board, with no body placement shown.
Swallows, anchor and roses design on wood
Full back tattoo in traditional style showing an eagle, a coiled snake, a sailing ship on waves and red roses, placed on the back.
Eagle, snake and ship across a full back
Traditional style tattoo on a calf showing a sailing ship and lighthouse in a rope frame, with an anchor, stars and a red heart.
Lighthouse and sailing ship with heart on a calf
Colour neo-traditional tattoo of a dark-haired mermaid with teal scales, red roses and a conch shell, on the upper arm.
Mermaid with roses and shell on a limb
A leg in a bathtub covered in bold traditional tattoos, including red roses, an anchor wrapped in rope and a red heart, on the thigh, calf and a hand.
Traditional leg sleeve with roses and an anchor
Traditional style tattoo of two swallows, a red and grey anchor, rope and yellow flowers across an upper arm.
Swallows, anchor and flowers on an upper arm
Traditional style tattoo of a message in a bottle with rope, pink roses and green leaves on a limb, with a red heart on the rolled note.
Message in a bottle with roses on skin
Colour traditional-style tattoo of an anchor wrapped in rope, with the words THE LORD IS MY above and Anchor below, on skin.
Anchor with rope and scripted text
Traditional flash drawing of a mermaid with long dark hair seated on an anchor and rope, holding a small cherub, in red, yellow and black outline on a tan background.
Mermaid and anchor traditional flash
Pencil drawing of a traditional-style tattoo design showing an anchor wrapped in rope, a swallow and two skulls, with no body placement visible.
Anchor, swallow and skulls tattoo design
Colour tattoo of an ornate hot air balloon with a black script word reading freedom on the thigh, in a traditional style.
Hot air balloon and freedom script on thigh
Traditional style colour tattoo of a grey anchor wrapped in yellow rope and teal leaves, on the lower leg.
Anchor with rope and teal leaves on a calf
Traditional style tattoo of a sailing ship against a red sunset inside a rope border, with a flower below, on a forearm.
Sailing ship and flower on a forearm
Colour traditional-style tattoo of an anchor wrapped in rope with a red heart on the shank, placed on the upper back.
Traditional anchor with heart on upper back
Colour tattoo of a grey anchor wrapped in rope, with a red lotus and teal leaves and blue flame-like lines behind it, on the inner forearm.
Anchor and lotus on a forearm
Teal line drawing in a traditional nautical style showing a sailing ship, waves and an anchor wrapped in rope, with a banner reading I am the captain of my soul.
Sailing ship and anchor banner design
Black and grey traditional flash line drawing of a mermaid holding a baby with a flower, seated on a wooden-beamed anchor with rope, shown without a body placement.
Mermaid and baby on an anchor
Flash sheet of twenty-four black and white anchor designs, many with crosses, shields, rope and an octopus, in traditional and line-art styles.
Anchor and cross flash sheet
Black and grey tattoo of three arrows tied together with a cord on the upper arm, with grey shading on the fletching.
Three arrows bound with cord on upper arm
Black line drawing of a mermaid wrapped around an anchor with a rope, in a traditional flash style, on a sheet of paper.
Mermaid wrapped around an anchor flash
Black and grey traditional flash design of a swallow perched on an ornate anchor wrapped in rope, with a ship's wheel hanging below.
Swallow perched on an anchor with ship's wheel
Black and grey traditional style tattoo on an upper arm showing a classic cartoon mouse at a ship's wheel, framed by rope, a lamp and an anchor.
Cartoon mouse at ship's wheel with anchor and rope
Colour traditional tattoo of a woman in profile with red flowers in her hair, a sailing ship and a red bottle, set in a rope frame on a calf.
Woman in profile with ship and bottle on a calf