If you have ugly chains on your porch swing, this is an easy and inexpensive solution. Here’s how to cover porch swing chains in minutes.
Please tell me you have sung a School House Rock song at least once in your life.
Conjunction junction what’s your function?
Lolly, lolly, lolly get your adverbs here.
Interplanetary Janet she’s a galaxy girl.
I sang along as I typed each one of these. I have a mother who is a government teacher and I grew up on School House rock. She’d play the one about the bill who was just sitting on Capitol Hill and the one about no more kings and the preamble to the Constitution put to song.
But the one I’ve used the most?
You know. The song about Thomas Edison and the lightbulb and Samuel Morse and the telegraph and Elias Howe and the sewing machine. It’s all about how necessity is the mother of invention.
Yep.
That’s my mantra.
It’s where most of my projects come from.
So when my porch swing chains were ugly and needed a fix? That was a necessity.
Good thing I had an invention.
Here’s how to cover porch swing chains.
I found these before pictures of what the chains looked like on the porch swings.
We have two porch swings on our back porch that hang from these metal chains.
The chains are fine.
Sufficient.
They are a little glumpy at the top.
And then?
I had an idea.
What if I covered them with cord covers?
I know, right?
BRILLIANT.
I found these cord covers at Hobby Lobby.
They were the cheapest I could find (especially if you use your 40% off coupon). I ordered these online and had them shipped to the house.
Here’s what they look like out of the package.
These cord covers are 8 feet long and made of burlap.
I found some that snapped and some that velcroed and I would 100% recommend the velcro.
It was SO much easier to put on.
This is what they look like when you un-velcro them.
There are tiny little strands of elastic inside that help keep the scrunched shape.
And here they are on the porch swing.
I know? RIGHT?
Didn’t it turn out so cute?
And it was so much easier than I thought to put them on.
I originally thought I was going to have to make tons of cuts to make them fit, but the velcro made it so easy.
Here’s how to install them.
The chain is a triangle with a long chain at the top. We used three cords for this project.
Place one cord from the bottom of the swing all the way to the top.
Here’s a close-up of the top of the cord.
It’s actually gathered which helps it to stay when you velcro it over the hook.
Start at the bottom where the chain is attached to the swing and to all the way to the top hook.
Velcro in place.
Repeat on the chain on the other side of the swing.
Now all you have left is the back part of the triangle.
I cut the remaining cord cover in half.
Simply add the cut end is to the top of the triangle and tuck it into the other cord.
The scrunched end is at the bottom.
Simply velcro that part of the cord in place and repeat for the other side of the chain on the swing.
It took about 10 minutes to take these swings from ordinary to extraordinary.
I’m no Thomas Edison or Alexander Graham Bell, but I am ALL ABOUT a little necessity.
Especially when it turns into an invention like this. 🙂
PS I found this old picture of my four littles sitting on this porch when my parents lived here.
I almost started crying when I found it.
Truth?
I’m so proud of the young people they have become, but I miss the days of littles.
Especially when they were this cute. 🙂
KariAnne, I could not wait to see the finished product. I saw you yesterday on IG and you were so excited it made me excited.LOL. I too have a swing and would not have thought to do that. Have used them on cords in the house. You are Genius and resourceful. I will be following suit. Also, yesterday you mentioned not sure how will hold up. Spray with outdoor water repellent to keep moist away. Just a thought. Also, what is the plant that is in the urn? Thanks again. Have a great weekend.
They are so precious. “Total aside”: You never fail to make my heart smile. Thank you. BTW...great project.
Now you’ve got that song in my head!!! I totally use schoolhouse Rock for homeschool! The swing looks cute! Good job!
Love it - Pinned!
Love this idea!!! Much more pleasing to the eye 💜 The pic of the kids is precious 🥰. Your house has come a long way since then. Gorgeous!
Hey Karianne, Your kiddos are still adorable but those pink sunglasses! Sherry
You always have the best ideas! I couldn’t wait to see the results after I watched your stories yesterday. How fun to find this picture during the time you have been sprucing up the porch. Your children are so sweet! ❤️
What a fabulous change, the covers look amazing. The thing I love the most is the picture of the littles. How precious are they.
Brilliant! We moved last October to a home that has a swing in the backyard. We were going to replace the rusted chains but this will make it look so much nicer! Think I'll wait until after it gets power washed though! What a great idea!
Hi KariAnne, What a cute addition to your porch swings!!! Just like frosting on a cake!!! I also think that picture of your “littles” is so darned precious!!! Can you talk them into sitting for a re-do of the same pose on your mom’s porch that’s now your porch......a “before and after” if you will??? That would be great fun to see!!! Have an amazing day, sweet girl!!! 💗💗💗
Great idea, KariAnne! Helpful explanation and easy enough for me to do. My husband put up a punching bag for my (then) young teen-age daughter years ago, and I also disliked seeing the chain it hung from it, although it was new and appropriate. It's down now, but your idea could have worked for that, as well. I suppose it might work on cords that cannot be hidden or almost anything that it might fit around. Well, maybe not ANYTHING! I love every sentence in your post, and I share the same sentiments about "the littles"!
Great idea! Just what those ugly chains needed, I’m doing this! Pat
Fantastic! Now I know what to get for my plant pockets! WooHoo!
You want to make your swings totally fabulous?!?!?! Add a heavy-duty spring where the swing is attached to the hook and you will love the "bounce" it gives the swing. It is such a simple thing--but boy will you love the results!!!
This post brought me back decades!!! I forgot about those songs that I too grew up with, so to read those words put the songs back in my head!!!!!!! thanks:) Oh, and the cord covers do look pretty too.....great hack:)
Thank you for that great idea! I was just looking at the chains on my front swing this morning, wondering how I could make them look better.
Brilliant! And those mini=Thistles are so cute I can't take it!! xoxo
Karianne, when seeing this post I immediately thought back to when I paid a friend to make red/white checked covers for my porch swing chains! I saw this setup in a magazine years ago, and immediately thought I had to do this! However, my friend sewed these like a 'tube' with a tie string at the ends. They were challenging to get on and stayed on for years until they had to be removed because they were so dirty. And they were just as challenging to get off! When they were washed, there were no plans to put them back on! Being resourceful, they were saved and eventually landed up covering a piece of hose when I made a 'hose wreath.' =) I would entertain getting what you share because of the Velcro, however, I have allergies to jute/burlap so it would need to be made of another fabric. Yet I will look into this once again making life easier this time around. And that picture is priceless - consider enlarging/framing it so whenever you? hubby? or even the kids pass by it smiling knowing how they have grown and the memories that come with that.....priceless indeed!
Oh my goodness! You have to get your kids to recreate that photo! It's a quarantine thing! :D p.s. I grew up on Schoolhouse Rock, as well. My favorite was always, "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility .... ". It's never left me. Whomever owns the rights to Schoolhouse Rock should really bring it back! Take care.
Genius idea.
Great idea! Very cute.😊
That porch swing is sooooo awesome - ah to have an old house with a proper porch swing - so old fashioned and romantic. Hope you have wonderful happy hours on that beautiful swing and its new chain covers!!!! Your 4 littles in the pic? Oh my golly they are soooo cute!!!!!!! I so love that you live in the house you grew up in - seriously, that was a happy day coming back to that happy joyful kharma. ♥ Hugs.