I’ve written about paper pinwheels when talking about eco-friendly alternatives to balloons. They looked really easy to make so I thought I would give it a go… There’s no point me recommending something if it’s actually very difficult to do.The best thing about a paper pinwheel is the lack of plastic (apart from the pin I used), the second best thing is that you’re probably not spending a huge amount as you might have some of the materials at home anyway.
Paper Pinwheels – What you Need
- Patterned paper
- Pins
- Paper Straws (or something else to attach the pinwheel to like a piece of dowelling)
- Something to stick the pin into (I used blue tack, but the rubber at the end of a pencil would be perfect)
Firstly let me make it clear that I’m not prepared to go out and spend money on things that I’m making purely for the purpose of this blog. I’m trying to reduce my outgoings so my aim is to use as much as I already own as possible. I’ll be honest… I did try to find paper straws when out shopping as I thought they could come in useful for several different craft projects I’m planning. However finding paper straws in the shops is not as easy as it should be! So my pinwheel is not attached to a paper straw.
How to make a paper pinwheel
1. Cut a square of paper
I cut a square of 6 inches by 6 inches, the length of my small ruler!
2. Draw diagonal lines
Draw some diagonal lines from each corner. Leave the bit in the middle, as these lines are to indicate where you need to cut the paper.
You’ll notice that I drew on the non-patterned side of the paper. You can draw on either side. It totally depends on whereabouts on the pinwheel you want the pattern to show.
3. Draw dots in the corners and centre as indicated
These dots help you to see which corners you’ll be folding inwards. My advice is to push a pin through each dot so that you have a small hole in each position. You’ll thank me for this later because trying to push the pin through 5 pieces of paper is not easy!
4. Cut along the lines you drew
Make sure you don’t cut too far and that the bits you don’t cut are an equal distance from the centre.
Notice my mistake here? I didn’t actually draw the dots thinking that I was smart enough not to need them. I also didn’t make pinholes. A silly mistake by an arrogant lady!
5. Fold each corner into the middle
Now comes the trickiest bit. There’s a very good reason why the next photo is of the completed pinwheel rather than just one or two corners folded inwards. I only have two hands, I also didn’t push a pin through the dots originally (I thought it was an unnecessary step!). Learn from my mistake!
So here’s what to do. Take each corner and fold it towards the centre, try to line up the holes as you go. Once you’ve folded all four corners inwards push a pin through the lined up holes and then secure them in the back with something. Like I said I used blue tack purely to stop the pin flying out and releasing each corner, but other materials would be a lot more suitable.
As you can see, by folding the white side of the paper inwards the pattern is visible in the centre section of the pinwheel. You can easily have the white and patterned sides of the paper the other way round depending on what you prefer.
At this point if you have paper straws or something similar you can attach the pinwheel to that. That would be the standard way to make a pinwheel and children can then hold them by the straw and blow them to watch them spin. As I don’t have any paper straws I attached my homemade pinwheel to a cork drinks coaster. It works really well.
Overall I’d say that making pinwheels was a little trickier than I expected (probably because of my silly mistake of ignoring the dots and pinholes) but it’s still a fun and very quick thing to do.
Fancy doing some more craft projects at home? Check out these eco-friendly craft materials.
PIN ME
