Tutorial- Kite Mobile

Hi

This tutorial is something I have been dreaming about for several weeks after seeing this photo below.

 Source

Kites are just so beautiful and with the arrival of balmy spring weather, they seemed like the perfect thing to make. They are also super easy!

Equipment:
Cocktail sticks
Patterned paper or fabric
Sewing machine
Bakers twine/ string/ ribbon
cotton thread
thin branch

1. The basic framework for the kite is two cocktail sticks in the shape of a cross. Lay these out on an old piece of card and draw your kite template from this. It needs to be as wide as the horizontal stick and as long as the vertical stick.

2. Start cutting out your kites. I used pretty paper and fabric to make the mobile interesting. You need two shapes per kite.

3. Sandwich your pieces together and sew around the edge. This is a very important step. When you get to the points ie, where you will be pushing the cocktail sticks through, lift the needle out of the paper, lift the foot and then turn the paper to sew down the next edge. This means that point is not sewn closed and therefore you can push the stick inside.

4. Push the horizontal cocktail stick between the two pieces of the kite

5. before you push the vertical cocktail stick through you will need to add the tail of the kite and the white cotton to hang it. The best way I found to do this is to use sellotape. One one end of the stick sellotape a length of bakers twine for the tail and at the other end sellotape a chosen length of white cotton.

6. Push this stick carefully through the kite so that the end with the cotton is at the top and the tail of the kite is at the bottom. (you shouldn't be able to see the sellotape.)


 7. Voila! One little kite. Keep making these until you get bored! Add sweet detail like little bows!

8. Find a light, interesting branch and attach your kites onto this.  I then balanced mine on two nails on my wall. The white cotton becomes invisible and the kites flutter in the breeze and typically get their strings muddled! So pretty.

Thanks for stopping by