How to Make a Star with Rubber Bands
Rubber bands are useful tools, of course, but the hobby of rubber band manipulation makes them fun and entertaining too. People who practice rubber band manipulation use their hands and fingers to make shapes from ordinary rubber bands, and a star is one of the most popular shapes they create. Rubber band stars are good beginner projects since they're fast, have few steps, and can be done just about anywhere. Also, the skills you develop from making rubber band stars will help when you try more advanced rubber band projects.
Instructions
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1
Dangle a rubber band from your thumb.
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2
Catch the free end with your pinkie so the rubber band is looped around your thumb and pinkie. Keep the band taut but not stretched. You should see top and bottom segments of the rubber band. Your thumb and pinkie anchor the first two (lowest) points of the star.
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3
Slip your middle finger under the top segment and stretch it upward, making a triangle shape with the rubber band. This makes the third (top) point of the star.
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4
Bend your index finger down over both rubber band segments below it.
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5
Scoop your fingertip under the bottom segment, then turn your finger toward your thumb to get that segment to start to loop around your fingertip. (If it helps, you can also swivel your thumb forward to help bend the segment around your finger.) Pull your index finger all the way up, taking a single loop of rubber band with it. (Be careful not to catch the other rubber band segment as you raise your finger.) Bringing up that loop from the bottom segment makes the fourth (top right) point of the star. It also makes a vertical section of rubber band between your thumb and index finger. You'll use that vertical section to make the fifth point of the star in step 7.
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6
Bend your ring finger down over both rubber band segments below it.
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7
Find the vertical rubber band section you made in step 5. Place your ring finger behind it, then pull it up into position between your middle and pinkie fingers. This makes the fifth and final point of the rubber band star.
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8
Adjust your fingers so the star is proportionate and symmetrical.
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Tips & Warnings
Beginners will have the best luck with a rubber band about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter and about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick.
Keep the band on your first knuckles (the knuckles closest to your fingernails) for ease of both finger motion and rubber band motion.
If you find you need to use your other hand to keep the rubber band at your first knuckles, then the rubber band is too small or too tight to make a proportionate star. Find a larger or looser rubber band.
Practice so you can do this trick smoothly and quickly--it can be fun to show it off to friends and family.
If you stretch a rubber band too far, it could snap and hurt your skin.
