Friday DIY | Build An Easy Kite

Charleston’s beaches are the perfect place for kite flying. There’s not to much wind that you feel blown over, but there’s enough that your kite can actually get off the sand and into the air to flutter and fly. It’s exciting, so fun, and I admit it makes me sing this Mary Poppins‘s tune in my head.

This week at the beach, I made four kites, one for each of the kids here, and on a particularly windy afternoon we took them flying. But the kites were simply made, it didn’t matter that one landed quickly in the ocean or that the toddler attention span for kite flying is short. The rest of us over the age of 4 enjoyed the kites when they were finished with them.
Want to make your own? Here’s how.

You’ll need a stapler, hole punch, string that won’t break easily (I used embroidery thread), a ruler, something to wind your sting around (like a wooden kabob stick), and thick paper (12-inches by 12-inches works best, but probably a sheet of 8 1/2-by-11 inches would work too).

Start by folding your paper in half. And measure 2 1/2 inches and 5 inches along the fold from one end. Make a small mark at each of these places.

Next, take the top layer of the paper closest to your first mark and bend it down until that corner touches your mark. While holding this corner in place, fold the opposite corner the same distance-only on the other side of the paper. Be sure not to crease either fold. Staple the corners to the paper close to the fold itself. You’ve just made the wings of your kite.

Use the hole punch to put a hole in the paper at the second mark on your paper. Wind one end of your string around the stick you’ve chosen, and tie the other end to the kite with a good knot. I’m partial to a square knot, personally.

And that’s all there is to it. Your kite is ready for a stiff breeze.

It might be fun to let the kiddos decorate their own kites before you fold. As you can see, I let each kid pick their own color. While these aren’t the kind of kite that reaches the clouds, it will flutter and float and dip on the breeze, making this a wonderful summertime adventure in Charleston or anywhere you are.