I carried one of these kites in my backpack in grade school, as it collapses down very small when not in use. You can make smaller versions from still paper, but the one we're going to do uses plastic.
Here's what you need to get:
Two 24 inch wood dowels (or two 24 inch long plastic balloon sticks), four donut stickers (also known as page reinforcement stickers), string, plastic garbage bags, tape and scissors.
[am4show have='p8;p9;p94;' guest_error='Guest error message' user_error='User error message' ]
Cut a garbage bag into a rectangle 24 inches high and 30 inches long. Snip the corner of the upper right side as follows:
From the upper right corner, measure 9 inches to the left and mark with a dot (the dot will be on an edge). From the corner again, measure down 7.5 inches and make another dot (again, on an edge). Connect the dots and cut along a line. Cut the left upper corner to match. Tip: You can easily do this by folding the bag in half and follow the cut you just made.
Snip the lower bottom corners the same way. From the lower right corner, measure over 9 inches to the left and mark with a dot, then measure 16.5 inches up from the corner and mark with another dot. Connect the dots and cut along the line. Do the same for the left side. Shape the top straight edge of your kite by cutting a shallow curve (like the neckline of a T-shirt) for better airflow.
Your kite should look like a rectangle with a triangle attached to either side, pointing out. At those points, punch a hole and reinforce it with donut hole savers. Attach six feet of string with double knots at each hole, then knot the ends together. Spread your kite out flat. Line up your dowels where the rectangle edges meet the triangle edges, one for each side and tape them in place. Add a spool of string and you are ready to go!
[/am4show]
I carried one of these kites in my backpack in grade school, as it collapses down very small when not in use. You can make smaller versions from still paper, but the one we're going to do uses plastic.
Here's what you need to get:
Two 24 inch wood dowels (or two 24 inch long plastic balloon sticks), four donut stickers (also known as page reinforcement stickers), string, plastic garbage bags, tape and scissors.
[am4show have='p8;p9;p94;' guest_error='Guest error message' user_error='User error message' ]
Cut a garbage bag into a rectangle 24 inches high and 30 inches long. Snip the corner of the upper right side as follows:
From the upper right corner, measure 9 inches to the left and mark with a dot (the dot will be on an edge). From the corner again, measure down 7.5 inches and make another dot (again, on an edge). Connect the dots and cut along a line. Cut the left upper corner to match. Tip: You can easily do this by folding the bag in half and follow the cut you just made.
Snip the lower bottom corners the same way. From the lower right corner, measure over 9 inches to the left and mark with a dot, then measure 16.5 inches up from the corner and mark with another dot. Connect the dots and cut along the line. Do the same for the left side. Shape the top straight edge of your kite by cutting a shallow curve (like the neckline of a T-shirt) for better airflow.
Your kite should look like a rectangle with a triangle attached to either side, pointing out. At those points, punch a hole and reinforce it with donut hole savers. Attach six feet of string with double knots at each hole, then knot the ends together. Spread your kite out flat. Line up your dowels where the rectangle edges meet the triangle edges, one for each side and tape them in place. Add a spool of string and you are ready to go!
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