Im having a terrible time keeping knots tied on homemade toys for Alex. Ill spend an hour putting somthing together, Give it to the boy, then minutes later, I hear all the pieces crashing on the floor. All Alex wants are the knots! Ive tried cotton rope, paulie rope, sisel, jute, thin poly, leather strips. you name it. Any tips on keeping them tied?

I have no idea on the different types of knots and what may work better than another. However, I have an idea for toy that may keep him happy. Just pony beads and knots. Make a knot, put a pony bead, make another knot, then add another pony bead. A toy completely full of knots should take him a little longer to get a part- as well as keeping him occupied! I have a picture in my head of this...I'll try to find something similar on the internet to give you an idea.

I had the same idea. I made it and it looked so pretty. Lots of pony beads, ranging to bigger acrylic beads. All knotted in the middle made with paulie rope. 5 minutes was all it took for the st bead to hit the floor. Those little beads sure do hurt your feet when you step on them! They roll all over the house and I find them in the craziest places. Im at my witts end!

What if you leave out the beads (or whatever else) and just have a toy with knots to undo? Make lots of knots with various colors of sisal rope, leather, cotton rope, all on the same toy for variety and interest, and just let him get to work on all the knots?

This is a daily ritual with Tausi. I gather up all the pieces and reassemble the toys. Next day I do the same. I figure he gets a great deal of enjoyment out of doing it, so what the heck.

But what if you knotted each bead separately on the rope? It would take longer to make, but undoing 1 knot would only yield 1 bead. I think it would take him a lot longer to get every single bead off. I also like Sarah's idea. Sounds like a pretty cool toy.

This could be worth it! If Im tying new knots all day, at least Im not stepping on beads! Its a good idea!

That's one of Kady's favorite things to do is, chew off the knots I tie in the leather strips. I don't add anything else.

I've heard if you swell leather with water after you make a knot in it - it's harder to get undone. Not sure if it's true or not - Kirby just chews through leather. Is there a way you can use certain toy parts to slide tightly over the knots to make them more hidden?

I give up! I tried my toy that I called Lotsa knots! I made knots in a row, then a bead then lots more knots. I used a few different types of rope and a leather as well. It didnt take long, all untied, ans he's bored again. Stainless steele knots! Now thats an idea!!!!