The art of flying a kite doesn't have to involve just trying to lift one off the ground. While plastic and readily available kites are available in most stores, the durability and expense of them can be just as devastating as a crash landing. Making your own homemade kite is just as easy, fun, and will save money with some of the around-the-house materials you can use.
What you'll need:
-Old newspaper or thin wrapping paper or tissue paper
-Wooden dowels
- Glue
- Old string or thin yarn
Step 1: Take one dowel measured about 20 inches and make another dowel 14 inches. Lay the dowels in a cross-like shape. The smaller dowel should be about 3-4 inches centered from the long dowel. Tie the two dowels together using string using a wrap around or cris-cross effect. Tie a knot to ensure the strings won't loosen. The dowels should look like a cross.
Step 2: Wrap the string around the top dowel a few times and string it through the remaining the to make a diamond. Wrap the string around each to ensure it won't loosen. Pull the string so it is tight and tie it in a knot at the top notch. It should now have the general shape of a kite or look like a diamond.
Step 3: Lay out your desired paper (1 sheet of thin paper works best). Place the stick configuration on top of the paper leaving at least 1 ½ inch excess paper along the edges.
Step 4: Quickly glue the dowels to the paper (string side up). Allow the piece to dry and complete the gluing by folding the excess paper over the dowels and folding the edges over the sticks with extra glue. Press firming on the edges to ensure the glue is sealed.
Step 5: To create the "keel" (or where the string you handle to fly will be connected to), tie one end of the string to the top of the long dowel and then another to the other end of the longer dowel.
Step 6: Decorate! Be careful how thick you apply paint or what you attach to the kite as easy lifting occurs from the lightness of the kite. Lastly, attach the longest string (or kite string that can be purchased at local stores) that will be handled and use to control the kite. Be sure to knot this piece carefully so not to lose the kite in mid flight.
Step 7: Fly!
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