How to Make a Spinner

Spinners are a lot of fun to make at home or at school to kill a little time. Impress your friends by whipping one up and using it to play truth or dare or spin the bottle. You can also have contests to see who has the fastest spinner. To make a spinner, all you need is a sheet of paper and some folding skills. Read on to find out how to do it.

Steps

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    Get a piece of paper. You can use printer paper or a piece of 8 1/2" by 11" looseleaf paper. Any other piece of rectangular paper should also work.
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    Fold the piece of paper in half so that the shorter ends come together. Use your finger to make a good crease down the middle of the paper.
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    Cut down the crease. Use a scissors to cut the paper in half. If you don't have a scissors handy, fold the paper back and forth along the crease until it's easy enough to tear in half.
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    Fold the two pieces of paper in half along the long edges. You should now have two pieces of long, skinny folded paper.
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    Create triangle folds. First fold the bottom corner of one of the rectangles up to create a triangle shape. Fold the other corner down to create a second triangle shape.
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    Repeat with the other piece of paper.
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    Lay one folded piece of paper out vertically.
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    Place the other piece of paper across it horizontally. The centers of the pieces of paper should cross over each other.
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    Fold in the triangles. Looking at the shape you've made with the two pieces of paper, you should have a cross with a triangle at every point. Now fold the bottom triangle to the center of the cross. Next fold the left triangle to the center, overlapping the one you just folded. Fold the top triangle to the center, too.
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    Tuck the last triangle into the fold. Fold the last triangle so it overlaps the top triangle and tucks under the bottom triangle.
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    Decorate the spinner. You can color each triangle a different color or create a pattern. If you're using the spinner for a game, you can draw an arrow in one corner so that it will land on someone when it's spun.
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    Spin the spinner. Use your hands to set the spinner in motion on a flat, smooth surface, like the table or floor. To help it spin even faster, you can fold it along the triangle lines to create a slight point on the bottom.

Tips

  • If you prefer variety to pattern, design each corner with it's own specific type of design, that's completely different from that of all the other corners.
  • To make the design on the spinner even cooler, trace the edges with black when you are finished designing it.
  • Teach your friends how to make them so you can battle them and so you keep them.
  • If you want to make it faster, you can take a pencil and stick it through the center or tape the bottom (clear tape only). Thumb tacks are also great for speed.

Things You'll Need

  • Paper
  • Scissors (or just tear it)
  • Crayons or markers

Article Info

Categories: Kids' Crafts | Origami