A Simple Wooden Swing

Make a simple wooden swing, perfect for hanging off of a backyard tree. These simple, easy-to-follow instructions will get you swinging.

If you have kids and you have a tree, then you most certainly need a simple wooden swing! In fact, almost everyone, adults included, can enjoy this swing.

It’s perfect for sitting on and idly kicking your legs. For sunny days that inspire a brief return to childhood with vigorous, full-body pumping. And if you’re as adventurous as Max, then you may even be tempted to get high enough to do a somersault off of the swing, even if it does scare your mother every time.

We built this simple wooden swing for Max when he was 3 years old. We were renting a house with a lovely heritage orchard and an apple tree that was perfect for a swing.

Attaching the Rope to the Tree

Naturally, it’s important to choose a good strong tree branch from which to hang your swing. It’s equally important to tie the swing to the branch in a manner that won’t choke off the growth of the tree. We did this with a sliding knot.

1. Cut the rope into 2 equal lengths.
2. Tie a bowline knot on one end of the rope. A good animation of the running bowline can be viewed here.
3. Loop the rope around the tree branch and thread the unknotted end through the eyelet of the bowline to form a running bowline.
4. Do the same thing with the second length of rope, separating the two lengths by roughly the same width as your swing.

Tying the swing to the Rope

As former rock climbers, the figure 8 climbing knot was a logical choice for attaching the wooden swing to the rope.  It is a static knot that allowed us to easily make adjustments as we worked at getting the swing level. 

To ensure that the swing would be stable enough for our energetic three-year-old, we used a total of four anchor points. Here’s how we tied the swing to the rope:

1. Start by tying a figure 8 knot on the line that comes down from the tree branch. The figure 8 knot should be about a foot up from where you want the swing to hang. An animation of the figure 8 knot can be viewed here.
2. Tie a simple overhand knot at the desired height of the swing seat.
3. Threat the rope down through the first hole. The knot should act as a stop point.
4. Bring the rope back up through the second hole and secure it in place with another simple overhand knot. If you’re not sure what I mean, check the picture above. Each of the overhand knots will prevent the swing from sliding around on the rope.
5. Feed the end of the rope back through the figure 8 knot.
6. Make sure the swing is level front-to-back and side-to-side before tightening the figure 8 knot. It’s easy to make small adjustments by sliding the figure 8 knot up and down on the rope. When everything is good and square, tighten the two figure 8 knots and try out your new swing!