[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!
- Simple Magic! Fun Tricks Kids Can Do & Revealed Secrets!
- With Explanations: Easy Magic Tricks for Lower-Grade Elementary School Children — How to Do Simple Tricks
- Simple! A classic but popular cat’s cradle trick. Learn cat’s cradle and have fun!
- [Easy] Magic tricks that will liven up the classroom: Recommended tricks you can do even during recess
- A roundup of finger tricks: magic you can do using just your fingertips.
- [For Middle Grades] Simple Magic Tricks for Elementary School Students: Fun Magic Everyone Will Love!
- Magic tricks using strings and rings: Recommended illusions for parties and performances
- Simple magic tricks that delight kids: surprising to watch and make you want to try them yourself.
- [Magic] Crowd-Pleasers for Elementary Schools! A Collection of Magic Trick Ideas Perfect for Fun Parties
- [Childcare Magic] Easy! A special feature on magic tricks you’ll want to show kids
- [Easy] Rubber Band Magic Tricks Collection [Party Entertainment / Performances]
- Super easy magic tricks kids can do! Fun tricks you can play right away
- Magic you can do using only your hands—no props needed! Perfect to perform at school.
[Magic] Easy Tricks You Can Enjoy Using String Figures (21–30)
thimble
It’s a magic trick where the string hooked on your fingers slips off in an instant.
It’s a classic in cat’s cradle magic! First, turn your left palm so it’s visible and hook the cat’s cradle string around your left wrist.
From beneath the front string on your left hand, pass your right index finger through, then go between the left thumb and index finger and pull the back string on the left hand toward you.
Rotate your right wrist, twist the string on your index finger once, then transfer that string onto the left index finger.
Do the same to place strings on the middle, ring, and little fingers.
One important tip: when pulling the back-left string toward you, make sure to pass it between the finger you’ll transfer the string to and the finger immediately to its left.
In other words, if you’re transferring to the middle finger, pass it between the index and middle fingers.
Once all fingers have strings, remove only the thumb string, then pull the slack string beside the little finger.
The strings on the left hand should slip off smoothly!
cord tying
It’s a mysterious string trick where the right and left ends of the string figure end up connected! First, hold the right and left ends of the string and overlap them with the right end on top.
Next, use the index finger and thumb of your right hand to pinch the right end from underneath the left end, and use the index finger and thumb of your left hand to pinch the left end from above.
Keeping that position, slip the bottommost string off your fingers and pull the strings to the left and right—you’ll see the right and left ends connect! Once you remember the steps, even young children can do this magic trick.
If you like string figures, give it a try!
The strings swap in an instant.
It’s a magic trick where two cat’s cradle strings swap places.
For this trick, use two strings in different colors—let’s say blue and pink.
Make the blue string into a single length of cord and pass it through the loop of the pink string.
Bring the two ends of the blue string together, creating a loop, and slip your left arm through that loop.
At this point, the pink string is caught on the blue string.
While keeping this setup, firmly pull down on the part of the blue string that’s farther from your left wrist.
The blue and pink strings should switch places.
If you’re performing this as a magic trick, it’s a good idea to hide the moment you pull the string with a towel or cloth so the secret isn’t revealed.
cord transfer
Ayatori is a magic trick where the string moves from one finger to another! First, hook the string onto the index finger of your left hand.
Then, wrap the bundled string around both your index and middle fingers.
There are two key points to make the trick work.
First, when wrapping, always keep the string that runs between your index and middle fingers on top so it doesn’t get twisted.
Second, once during the wrapping process, wrap only the lower string.
After you’ve wrapped just the lower string that one time, you can continue wrapping without worrying about which strand is on top or about twists.
When you’re done wrapping, pull the string off in one go.
The string that was on your index finger should have moved to your middle finger!
Ayatori combo → Finger escape magic
This is a magic trick where you perform several string figures in sequence and finish with a string escape.
Loop a string around both thumbs and little fingers.
With your right middle finger, pick up the palm string from the left hand; with your left middle finger, pick up the palm string from the right hand.
With your thumbs, pick up the string between the index and middle fingers; with your little fingers, pick up the string between the middle and ring fingers.
With your thumbs, pick up the near string that is on the little fingers, then release the little-finger loops.
With your little fingers, pick up the two far strings that are on the thumbs and release the thumb loops; then with your thumbs, pick up the two near strings that are on the little fingers.
There are two strings under the middle fingers across the palms: pick up the left string with the right middle finger and the right string with the left middle finger.
There will be three loops on each middle finger; release only the bottom loop from both hands.
That completes “Iron Bridge”! Next, there is one string in front of each middle finger.
While pressing that string down from above with your middle fingers, release the two loops originally on the middle fingers to make “Turtle.” Remove the middle-finger loops and slowly spread both hands outward.
You will get two large triangles on the upper left/right and two on the lower left/right.
Insert each middle finger from above into the upper triangles, and each index finger from above into the lower triangles, then bring index and middle fingers together.
Without changing that, pass your fingers up through the triangles directly in front of them from below to complete “Rubber Band”! Next, transfer the right thumb loop to the left thumb, and the right little-finger loop to the left thumb to make “Airplane.” Move the right index-finger loop to the left index finger, and the right middle-finger loop to the left middle finger to make “Kabuto (samurai helmet).” Release the thumb and little-finger loops to make “Necktie.” Finally, pull the string between the middle and ring fingers toward you, and the sequence ends with the string-escape magic!