DIY Pallet Tree Swing

Oh my goodness gracious! You would not believe how much fun my family and i had creating this simple tree swing from an old pallet. It’s only been up a little over a week, but we have spent hours playing, resting or reading on this swing. Below you’ll find the simple steps to creating this pallet swing. The hardest item to find is the tree! But if you don’t have a tree that is suitable, you could always hang it from under a patio roof or similar structure. What you’ll need : a TREE (have an arborist check suitability), a pallet (ours was exactly the right size), paint (optional), rope (make sure it is UV protected, is suitable for outside use and has a high breaking point), some strips of rubber (to protect the tree branch) and a few helping hands.

You can see above that i painted a little happy message on the top of my pallet. I also painted along the edges to cover up the branding that was printed on the wood. I used an old rubber mat to make strips to hang over the tree branch before we attached the rope and swing. This will stop the rope from cutting into the tree branch. In the images below you can see all our helpers. You probably don’t NEED this many people, but it sure does make the project more fun! Just be aware that having this many helpers actually lengthens the time taken to complete the project. There was a lot of distraction caused by the additional rope, which has now become an unexpected, but permanent knotted ladder on the tree.

We laid the rubber trips around the branches and then tied the rope around a few times. I had a great Knot book all ready to go, but my Dad who used to be a fisherman in his younger days had the pallet knots tied in a blink of eye. And believe me, those ropes aren’t going anywhere. The best thing about this project is the time the kids are spending outside in the fresh air. 🙂