Make this simple DIY tree swing in less than an hour, with just a few basic supplies, and give your kids hours of fun!

DIY Tree Swing

Here is what you need:

 18 or 24 inch wooden round (found in the furniture making section at Lowes, etc.)
25ish feet of 1 inch rope (you’ll need enough to hang from a secure tree branch to the ground plus about 3 more feet)
some exterior paint in any color
a drill with a 1 inch spade bit
 a paint brush
On this DIY tree swing, you can paint the wood seat any color you'd like. This is a great part of the project for your kids to help out with.

Step 1: Paint the entire wooden round, both sides, with two or three coats of exterior paint. Any color will work, or if you want to get the kiddos in on the action then let them help you paint it. You could even get fancy and let them paint on their name or anything else they wish – it would look awesome to have a swing for multiple kids that they all designed themselves.

Drill into the center of the wooden seat with your spade drill bit to make the hole for the rope.

Step 2:Once completely dry, drill a hole right in the middle of the round with the one inch spade bit, going all the way through. You can either do it by eye or use a tape measure and get it precise (which I recommend.) Slow and steady is best when working with spade bits, let it drill in a bit and then pull it out so the chips get out of the way.

I had my husband tie the rope from a sturdy branch on a tree in our yard. Make sure to tie the rope very securely!

Step 3: You want to hang your rope from a good, solid tree limb (or get your husband to do it – that’s what I did.) You want to make sure that the rope goes almost all the way to the ground  and it nice and secure. We wrapped it around twice then tied it off with a really great knot to hold it all in place.

Thread the wooden swing seat onto the bottom of the rope and tie another knot securely under the seat.

Step 4: Thread the end of the rope through the hole from top to bottom, and then tie a good secure knot in it from the bottom of the swing.

 

Step 5: And that’s it! It’s seriously easy to make this swing, and besides drying time it really takes less than half an hour of work. It’s just about painting, drilling, hanging – DONE. Besides just making a swing to have fun on, when you let your kids help with small projects like this it helps build memories as well as self-esteem  to let them learn they really can do things on their own. Happy Summer!

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Gina Luker
Gina Luker is the founder of The Shabby Creek Cottage blog & the author of How to Start a Home-Based Etsy Business. She writes daily on her DIY blog, as well as for magazines and other publications. She has been featured by Etsy, Romantic Homes, Brides Magazine, and many others all over the world. She lives in rural Tennessee, with her husband and two girls, in their shabby little cottage by the creek.
Gina Luker
Gina Luker

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