Question about Jump Ropes

I've been lurking here for about a year, and have lost 37 pounds so far.  And I have a question.

I want to start jumping rope, which I can do at home in my garage, if I can't make it to the gym.  My question is, how do I know what length the rope needs to be?  I bought a jumprope last week, and it's way too long.  My husband said to wrap it around my hands, but when I tried that, it kept coming off and it was still too long anyway.  I thought about taking a jumprope out of the package in the store to figure out the right length, but they were all sealed in such a way that I would have had to destroy the package to open it.

I'm 5'6" if that helps.

Thanks!!

What you do is stand on the rope and pull the ends up.  They should reach your armpits.