How to Make a Kite that Really Flies!

By Angela Sellari

Ever wondered how to make a kite that will actually fly? I’m excited to show you how to do just that!

Spring is the perfect season to get outside and be refreshed! We are having some lovely spring weather in Florida, and these last few weeks have been ideal for spending time outdoors. My 9-year-old and I recently discovered some fantastic walking trails at a nearby park. Part of the path goes around a lake, so there is a lot of wildlife to see. There are also some nice grassy areas where we’ve seen people flying kites which got me to thinking about a homemade kite project we could do while on spring break. Spring break for us was just last week, and we had an absolute blast with our DIY kite project.

How to Make a Kite that Flies

It took a little bit of effort to figure out the best design, but in the end our kites turned out great. I’m going to save you the trouble of figuring out how to make a kite on your own, and show you step-by-step how to make a kite that will actually fly.

These kites are simple to make, but may be challenging for younger children. My 9-year old was able to do most of it herself with some guidance from me. There are some obvious steps like cutting the wooden dowels that will need to be done by an adult for safety reasons. Younger children can have a lot of fun painting and flying the kites.

How Do You Make a Homemade Kite?

First you’ll need to gather your supplies (list below) and decide how you want to decorate your kites. The supplies I didn’t already have, I was able to pick up at the local craft store. We chose to paint our kites, but you could also use crayons or decorate with stickers. Inspiration is a funny thing. You never know what will inspire you. For example, the color pallet for our kites was inspired by the colorful new Tampico packaging. The orange, yellow, pink and green colors are perfect for spring and if you look around this blog you’ll notice that these colors are favorites of mine.

Although the building of the kite is somewhat technical, decorating the kite is where you can really let your imagination shine. My little girl had so much fun making and decorating these kites.

A few supply notes: To make these kites you will want to use a lightweight paper. I had a roll of easel paper that worked perfectly. Tissue paper and newspaper would even work. I also used a glue stick for this project. However, any clear drying glue or even washi tape would work. The craft tubes I used could be replaced with painted toilet paper tubes or a wide popsicle stick – just something to wrap the sting around.

How do you make a kite step by step?

Supplies:
1/4 inch round wooden dowel (36 inch)
twine or string
small handsaw, to cut the dowel
lightweight craft paper, large enough to fit the frame of your kite (A roll of easel paper works well.)
scissors
glue stick
ribbon
craft paint and brushes
craft tube

Directions:

Begin by using a small handsaw to cut a 1 foot piece off the end of the wooden dowel. Carefully, use the handsaw to cut grooves into the ends of each dowel.

On a table, arrange the dowels into the shape of a cross. You want the horizontal piece north of center. Wrap a piece of string around several times to secure and tie off with a knot.

Tucking it into the grooves at the end of each dowel, run a length of sting around the outside to create the kite frame. Secure the ends with a knot and cut of any excess string with scissors. It will look like this:

Cut a sheet of paper slightly larger than the kite frame, allowing about 1-inch excess on each end. Then use the scissors to cut around the kite, again leaving about 1-inch border. See below:

Fold over the edges and secure with glue.

Turn the kite over and paint your design.

Allow to dry completely. We let ours dry overnight.

Once the paint is dry, cut a 12-inch length of string. Fold in half and tie a loop at the end. Next, tie the loose ends onto the horizontal dowel as in the picture below.

For the tail of the kite, cut 6 4-inch pieces of ribbon and a length of string about a foot and a half long. Tie each ribbon around the string, knotting in the center. Then tie one end of the string around the wooden dowel at the bottom of the kite.

Take a long length of string. The length depends on how high you want your kit to go into the air. Tie one end around the craft tube and secure with a knot. Wrap the remaining string around the tube then tie the other end to the loop on the back of the kite.

Now you are ready to go outside and fly your kite!

She had SO much fun flying her homemade kite at the park. We are looking forward to going back on a day when there is even more of a breeze. A windy day is the best time to fly a kite.

Many thanks to Tampico for inspiring this spring kite project! Look for their fresh new look at your local grocery store. I think Tampico juice drink is great beverage for spring activities like kite making.