Our son Jonathan recently made this tire swing for his little boys, Aiden and Sawyer. It’s comfortable, sturdy, and well-designed. They think it’s the greatest, and we do to! If you have little ones at your house who’d enjoy riding in a swing, you can follow the simple instructions below to construct one of your own.

The Swing
by Robert Louis Stevenson

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
River and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside–

Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown–
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!

Follow these easy directions to make your own tire swing:

Materials needed:

• discarded tire, about 3-ft. diameter
• two cans of red spray paint
• heavy duty 5-inch carabiner
• 12 yds. of quarter-inch nylon rope
• 8 yds. of half-inch nylon rope
• plus enough half-inch nylon to mount swing in tree
• 8 inch length of rubber hosing

Steps to assemble:

• Spray paint outside of tire in color of your choice. Let tire dry overnight before proceeding.
• Select a strong, healthy limb from which to hang your swing. The higher the limb, the larger the arc your swing will trace when you ride on it.
• Attach a small ball or stone to one end of the 1/2-inch rope and toss it over chosen limb. Lower the ball until you can hold both ends of rope in your hands. “Walk” the rope out on the limb until it is resting at the position you want to hang your swing.
• Untie the ball, thread the length of hosing onto the rope, tie an overhand knot in the end of the rope, then use the same end to tie a slip knot around the other end of the rope and tighten until the knot is at the base of the branch and the hose is running over it.
• Cut the free end of the rope to about eye level and knot the carabiner to it.
• Using a 5/8-inch drill bit, bore four holes in the top of tire at 12 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, and 9 o’clock positions. These holes should be spaced mid-way between inner and outer circumference of the tire.
• Flip tire over, and use a 3/8-inch bit to drill 32 smaller holes, evenly spaced around the inner rim, about an inch from the edge.
• Use a pair of needle-nose pliers to pull quarter-inch nylon rope through the holes on bottom of tire. Beginning inside the tire, push rope out through first hole, in through 10th, out through 11th, in through 32nd, out through 31st, in through 12th, out through 13th, in through 30th…. Continue in this vein until you have eight parallel lengths of rope running across the bottom of the tire. Knot both ends inside the rim, then repeat with the remaining holes using another length of rope that runs perpendicular to the first. This time, though, weave the rope in and out of the first rows, to form a strong mesh in bottom of the tire. Knot both ends inside the rim, and the seat is finished.
• Cut two equal lengths of half-inch rope approximately four yards long. Fold each length in half, and knot close to the folded end to form a loop.
• Pull loose ends of the rope through the four holes on top of tire and knot ends securely inside the rim.
• Thread both loops onto the small end of the carabiner.
• If you will carefully pass a lighter over the free ends of your knots, the nylon will melt so that the rope cannot fray.