![[Magic] Easy-to-enjoy trick using string figures (Ayatori)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/6wnSprwBolY/maxresdefault.webp)
[Magic] Easy-to-enjoy trick using string figures (Ayatori)
Cat’s cradle you can enjoy with just one string.
It’s a traditional pastime beloved by children then and now—whether you quietly play solo or enjoy two-person cat’s cradle with a friend.
Here, we’ve gathered easy magic tricks you can do using cat’s cradle.
Along with classics like “Finger Escape” and “Ring Escape,” we introduce a variety of tricks that connect cat’s cradle techniques to magic!
Perfect for everyday play with kids or events in early childhood settings—feel free to make use of them.
If you love cat’s cradle, take this opportunity to give them a try!
[Magic] Easy Tricks Using String Figures (Ayatori) You Can Enjoy (1–10)
A magic trick where the string smoothly slides out when it’s hit
Try your luck! Here’s a string figure trick that works like an omikuji fortune.
First, loop the string over the thumb and little finger of your right hand, and the thumb and little finger of your left hand.
With your right middle finger, pick up the string from the left hand from underneath, then rotate your right middle finger toward the string in front of you.
Twist the string into an X and rotate it three times.
Next, with your left middle finger, pick up the string that’s looped over the right hand from underneath.
Then remove the strings from the right thumb and right little finger.
Take all the strings off the left hand, and when you lift your right hand, you’ll see three loops hanging below.
Pull any one of the three strings—if the string comes undone, you’ve got a winner!
Rubber → string-removal magic
A popular move in playable string figures is the “Rubber Band.” From that rubber band shape, let’s go straight into a string-escape magic trick! First, how to make the rubber band.
Place the string on both thumbs and little fingers.
Then, on the left hand’s little-finger side, pinch the far string (the one farther from you) with the right thumb and index finger, and loop it again over the left thumb and little finger.
Do the same to loop the string over the right thumb and little finger.
Next, use each middle finger to pick up the lower string lying across your palms, then release the outermost strings from the thumbs and little fingers.
That completes the rubber band! Looking at the rubber band shape, you’ll see two parallel strings in the center.
Use your little fingers to take the strings on the thumb side, and your thumbs to take the strings on the little-finger side.
Slip the strings off both middle fingers, and as you slowly pull your hands apart, the string will come free—magic complete!
Finger ring magic from a combo (chain of moves)
Here’s an introduction to a magic trick that builds on a sequence of cat’s cradle moves.
First, loop the string over both thumbs and little fingers.
Pick up the strings on each side with your middle fingers.
With your thumbs, pick up the strings between your index and middle fingers, and with your little fingers, pick up the strings between your middle and ring fingers.
With your thumbs, pick up the front string that’s looped over the little fingers, then release the little finger loops.
Use your little fingers to take the two thumb strings, release the thumb loops, then use your thumbs to take the two little finger strings.
With both middle fingers, pick up the two strings under the middle fingers and on the palms.
Release the bottom-most loop on each middle finger, and you’ve made the Railroad Bridge! Next, if you release the two loops on the middle fingers, you’ll get the Turtle.
Remove the middle-finger loops and pass your fingers up through the triangle from below to make the Rubber Band.
Finally, transfer the string from the right thumb to the left thumb, and place the right thumb’s string over the left hand to complete the Airplane.
End with the finger-escape magic trick to really surprise everyone!
figure eight
Place a string for cat’s cradle on a table in a figure-eight shape, then rest your hands on top of it.
Wrap the loop on the right around the four fingers of each hand except the thumb, and then do the same with the loop on the left.
It looks like the string is firmly wrapped around your four fingers… but when you pull one end of the string—whoosh!—it slips right off! The trick is that although it appears to be wrapped, it’s actually set up to undo itself.
The key points are paying attention to which strand is on top and which is underneath when making the figure eight, and how you wrap it.
Try it once and you’ll get it right away!
A mysterious cat’s cradle where a dog moves
It looks like a dog is taking a walk! I’ll show you a mysterious string figure.
First, insert only your thumbs from underneath into the string.
Grip the strings on your palms with three fingers, then loop your raised index finger over the top of the string, and use your left thumb from underneath to pick up the string between the right fingers.
Do the same on the other side.
After pulling the strings a bit, pick them up from underneath with your little fingers.
Remove the unheld string from your thumbs, then release the strings from your thumbs and index fingers.
Pass the middle and index fingers of your right hand through the thumb loops, remove the little finger of your left hand, and place that loop onto your right middle finger to set the size of the face.
Take it off your hands and adjust the shape to finish! When you pull with your left hand, the dog walks; return it to the original position to enjoy it again and again.
String-removal magic using cat’s cradle and scissors
This is a magic trick where a string tied to a pair of scissors comes undone in an instant.
First, tie the string to one handle of the scissors using a method known as a cow hitch or lark’s head.
It might be easier to picture it as the way you attach a strap.
Next, thread the long, dangling end through the other handle, or loosen the knot area and feed the string around the handle in various ways.
Finally, while saying something like, “It looks pretty tangled up, but…,” give the end of the string a pull, and it slips right off.
If you think about it, you’re really just undoing the cow hitch, but the key to making the trick work is to proceed smoothly so that doesn’t get noticed and to use your patter to convince the audience it’s all tangled.
Clockless Magic
A watch slips out of a cat’s cradle! Here’s a mysterious magic trick.
First, thread the watch through the cat’s cradle string.
Hook the string over your thumbs and little fingers, then use the middle finger of your right hand to pick up the string from your left hand from underneath.
Do the same with the middle finger of your left hand to pick up the string from your right hand.
Bring your right and left hands together, then remove all the strings except the one on your right middle finger and your left thumb.
And like magic—the watch slips free from the cat’s cradle! You can do the same trick with a ring instead of a wristwatch, so get creative and give it a try.
PET bottle opener
https://www.tiktok.com/@mimikachannel/video/6997551260870266113Let me show you a magic trick using a plastic bottle and a string figure! First, wrap the string around the plastic bottle twice.
Hook the string onto both thumbs and little fingers.
Then, from the right side, loop the string over your middle finger, and do the same on the left middle finger.
Now slip the loops on your middle fingers over the plastic bottle.
When you pull on the slipped-over loops, the string will come off the bottle.
You can do this the same way with a thermos, a glass bottle, a can—try it with different cylinders.
Decorating the plastic bottle and other items makes the making process fun too, so give it a try!
Endless thimble
https://www.tiktok.com/@kouchan_chichi/video/7420075640373775632I’ll show you a string figure “Finger Escape” magic trick you can do endlessly! Prepare a string about 3 meters long.
Just like the regular finger escape, loop the knot around your thumb, take it off, turn it upward, and place it onto your index finger.
After you loop it around to your pinky, to make it endless, take the non-knot end and hook it from behind your thumb.
Then, after taking it from the back, twist it upward and hook it from the underside all the way to your pinky.
Keep repeating this.
With about 3 meters, you can make three tiers.
When you release the thumb lock, pull the knot.
In an instant, the three-tier string will slip right off your fingers!
The string comes undone in an instant.
It looks like a tangled, messy cat’s cradle string, but if you slowly pull both ends…
You might worry it’ll just get more tangled and turn into a knotty lump, but even though it seems to curl up, it slips free and returns to a single string—an intriguing magic trick.
It looks difficult, but once you learn how to tie it, it’s an easy trick, so practice and memorize it! For the first knot, tie it with the right side on top; for the second knot, tie it with the left side on top; and then how you thread the string afterward—these three points are the key.
If you can do it quickly, everyone will be amazed!