We had been anticipating the swing hanging day ever since Christmas. Finally, spring came and my husband announced our swing excursion for the evening. We were so excited. I suggested a wagon ride. So, my husband hooked the tractor up to our wagon, and we loaded on with ladder in tow. We had so much fun looking over the property for that just right tree and just right spot.
Finally, we found it: not too far from the house, just the right tree and an amazing view. We took our knot book for knot help, in case we needed it. Since our son attached most of the ropes, he got the first swing.
The swing seat can even handle standing!
I got the last. The babies all swung in our laps. My first swing out was thrilling! I just hadn’t had that kind of fun in so long. I’ve swung on our hip hugger swings alone and with the girls, there is just no comparison! This swing is wide enough for everyone’s caboose and easily endures multiple bodies. Any of our family can even stand and swing on the bench seat. Just try that on the hip hugger swings.
Swinging on our Knot4Fun Classic Tree Swing with little ones.
Thanks for our fun swing adventure Hoffman’s and Great Aunt Louise, who gave us the swing at Christmastime as a gift.
The Shepherds’
Thanks, Shepherd Family, for the story of your Knot4Fun Classic Tree Swing adventure! And thanks for the wonderful tree swing pictures as well! We hope your family enjoys their swing for many years to come!
Purchase a Knot4Fun Classic Tree Swing Kit for Your Family
If your family likes traditional fun, check out our Classic Tree Swing Kit today! They are hand made right here on our family farm with oak sustainably harvested in the nearby Cherokee National Forest.
Our friend, Caleb, sent us these pictures of his knot tying practice in the car! The spiral bound binding sure came in handy now!
Clever Caleb is using his wait time wisely (he was waiting for an appointment) and practicing his knot tying using our knot tying book written just for kids.
Whilst searching for rope & knot projects for kids (and their parents too), I came across this YouTube Video by Living History School:
This simple backpack is made with materials found lying around most homes and backyards:
Rope
Raw Hide (dried leather that you can find inexpensively online)
Sticks and branches
Lewis & Clark for Children with Knots
This is an excellent hands-on project for homeschool students studying the Lewis & Clark Expedition or other American History. There is no better way to ensure learning & retention of the material than with practical projects. And let us not forget, this is a very usable survival skill.
Build Confidence with Knots
Has your child ever made something that they can really use? You can see his confidence build when he completes a project and is able to use his creation. This Rustic Backpack Project will do just that for your son or daughter: give them real self esteem.
Learn the Knots
Not sure how to teach you child how to tie the necessary knots? Google a bit and you will find what you need:
Square Lashing. A set of knots for connecting the stick frame.
Square Knot. A knot for tying this Rustic Backpack around your waist and attaching your bedroll to your pack.
Packer’s Knot. A knot and instructions for making a bedroll for your blanket & gear.
And if sitting in front of a computer and learning the knots doesn’t work for you or your child, consider purchasing our book on knot tying for kids. This book is spiral bound and sits flat on the table or floor in front of you while you practice the knots.
Swings provide much enjoyment for the young and old alike. Swings hung over a slope provide even more thrilling as can be seen here on our tire swing:
Make Your Tire Swing Even More Extreme
If you have a high branch, the swinging becomes even more extreme as the high branch and longer rope allow for a longer swing time. More flying!
Low-Cost Summer Swinging Fun
Nice thing about a tire swing is that it is inexpensive. An old tire and a length of rope (3/4 inch manilla is a good choice for a tire swing) coupled with the bowline & swing hitch and you have a recipe for low cost (or no cost) Summer fun!
How to Hang A Tire Swing
Want to learn how to tie the knots for your own tire swing? Get our knot tying book for children, Why Not Knot for Fun?! The book is spiral bound so you can easily lay it flat while you use two hands to tie up your tire swing.
Wayne in Maine sent us this picture of his Knot4Fun Classic Tree Swing Kit installed under a lovely shade tree near a garden. What a cool and relaxing place to swing! Thanks Wayne!
I know, we’re a knot tying bunch with our knot tying book and all, but did you realize we also have Tree Swing Kits available?
That’s right! Our Classic Tree Swing Kit includes everything you need to get you swinging, except the tree, of course. Swing trees don’t ship well and as such, are not included with the kit. With our Classic Tree Swing Kit, there are no holes to drill, no hardware to purchase. Just rope, a sturdy oak swing seat, and two easy-to-learn knots.
It’s like flying!
Our swing seats are made right here on our farm from oak that has been sustainably harvested in the nearby Unicoi Mountains. They are sturdy enough for an adult to stand on! And they won’t squeeze your hips when you sit on them. The rope we use in our Classic Tree Swing Kit is manufactured right here in the Southeastern U.S. and is considered “marine” grade. This is NOT polypropylene rope and will last for years.
Wouldn’t our Classic Tree Swing look lovely hanging under the branch of a shady tree in your yard? Order one today!
In our not-as-often-as-we’d-like efforts to show how handy knot tying can be at any age, here is an amazing video of Mozzarella Cheese being tied into knots:
OK. We are knee deep in mud around here. Not that I’m complaining. Just think about the drought of ’07 when rain ceased for consecutive months and temperatures exceeded 105 degrees F, and you still appreciate the precipitation. But it is still pleasant to look at a project that was carried out under the soft blue Tennessee sky of November.
Tree platform between three living pine trees.
Three children got the urge to elevate some logs one day. The oldest was only ten, so you can see that these projects are not extremely difficult. With a little teamwork and a 6′ step ladder, these young arborists lashed the tree beams in place using 10-30 foot lengths of 3/8 polyester rope and a square lashing knot at each end of the beam. They then placed decking of scavenged boards and short timbers to form a decking.
Detail of pattern used to secure decking to tree platform.
The decking is best secured to the main beams by using a 1/8-3/16″ strong cord in the pattern illustrated above. First anchor the cord using a clove hitch. Then weave in and out between the decking elements (boards, posts, and other scavenged items) and the main beam between two trees. Maintain good tension. Very quickly you will have fashioned a fun tree house. After a month or two you might want to remove the tree platform so that the living trees can grow some more. And lastly, don’t forget to install a beam several feet (usually about half the height of the smallest child involved) above the decking above the main beams. This is especially important if the platform is higher than one foot above the ground. Use the square lashing to install this railing.
We are now in the middle of winter. The rain seems incessant. The mud is pervasive. Under such conditions we can focus on cleaning up our piles of tangled rope that perhaps were not properly stowed while the weather was warm and sunny. I hope you all have utility spaces or sheds in which you can neatly hang your rope collection, so that in the spring, when many outdoor activities commence, the rope supply will be ready for instant deployment.
Available storage space in our utility building.
Find a blank wall somewhere, and coil your rope using the standard method. Standard method you say! This site has a very clear illustration of one method to prepare a coiled rope for storage. And voila! Neat storage of short ropes from 10-30′ in length, which are perfect for lashing and various jobs around the farm.
Rope placed in storage on screws inserted into internal building frame.
Rope will last a long time when properly stowed. Shown in the above picture is a white diamond braided 3/8″ diameter polyester rope, and a black solid braid nylon rope of 3/16″ diameter.
Not everybody has the perfect walnut tree with the thick horizontal branch fifteen feet off the ground. Such a limb is perfect for the tree swing. If such a feature is lacking, all is not lost. A beam can be connected between two trees that will serve the purpose of suspending a swing. Check out this beam installation completed by our 10 year old Research Coordinator. She even built her own ladder to assist her in elevating the beam! As you can see, the beam is attached to trees using the Square Lashing.
The next and final step is to install the swing kit. This is simple using this link.
Available storage space in our utility building.
