How to Make a Basic Box Kite

You don't have to spend a lot of time or money to create a kite that's both functional and good-looking. To make a basic box kite, all you need are a few supplies and a bit of time. With a little practice, you can be outside flying your kite and reveling in your handiwork any time the wind blows.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Paper, 51 by 12 inches
• 4 flat sticks, 1⁄4 by 3/8 by 40 inches
• 4 flat sticks, 1⁄4 by 1⁄2 by 17 inches
• Kite string
• Glue

1. Get the materials ready for construction. Lay out both pieces of paper side by side, with about 16 inches between them. Then use a pen to make four marks 12 inches apart on each sheet, leaving about 3 inches on each end.

2. Prepare the sticks. Using a knife, cut a quarter-inch notch on both ends of the 17-inch sticks. Then cut a half-inch deep, 8-inch long channel through the center of each of those sticks, so that they would piece together to form an X.

3. Bind together the short pieces. Create two X's with the short pieces and wind string around the centers to hold them together.

4. Form the outside structure of the kite by laying out the longer sticks at the 12-inch marks that you made on the paper in Step 1. Then use glue to attach the sticks to the paper. Once that's dry, put more glue on the edge of the kite and fold in the 3-inch allowance on the ends of the kite to give it a clean edge.

5. Create the box. Insert the stick X's into the center of the kite and fit them into the notches to create a four-sided box, with each side measuring 12 inches. Then tie some string to the bottom of the long sticks, which you'll use to fly the kite.

6. Fly and enjoy your new box kite.