CraftPals
Windsock

a windsock pattern make from recycled stuff.

Posted by rebecca on July 22,

hello everyone,
here is my windsock pattern that i developed.
my young girls and i enjoy making them.
have had a lot of compliments on how neat they look and
several requests for the pattern/ and the windsock.
have fun.
rebecca

materials:

old lightweight shirt sleeves or bottoms from pant legs.
(i use only lightweight cotton or the lightweight knits)
plastic gallon milk jugs or plastic pop bottles
(size you need depends on the size of the opening of the above- the cut end)
small ring about half an inch to an inch in diameter.
metal or plastic plastic fishing line
awl for punching holes into the plastic
scrap piece of lumber to protect work surface
hot glue gun or sewing machine
scissors that are good and sharp
sharp exacto knife or a utility knife
permanent black marker
iron (optional)
fray check or 3 eye rivets

assembly directions:

choose an appropriate size plastic container.
i slip the cut material end over containers to see if they are the
correct size (until i felt comfortable judging which size was appropriate).
do not use a ring that will be too big for the opening of the cut end of
the sleeve or pant leg.

it is ok if it is a little too small. too big will overstretch the material
and end up warping the shape of the plastic ring.
draw a ring around the plastic container. try and get real straight. the
depth of the the plastic ring should be about one inch.
(i mark as many rings as i can get out of the bottle and mark the whole
thing up at this point).
using the awl punch a hole above the ring mark big enough to get the scissors
into the hole so you can easily fit the scissors in to cut the ring out at the top.
(i start at the bottom of the container cutting the rings off. you then have a handle
to help hang onto the jug while cutting.) for each successive ring i want to remove i cut
a slit with an exacto knife rather than an awl to keep the edges smooth.

but the very first one that dives into the piece i use the awl.
neatly cut the shirt sleeve or bottom of the pant leg evenly across from
the garment. take the sleeve or the pant leg (do not turn inside out) and on
the cut end, fold the material about one half an inch towards the inside
of the material. i iron this into place. you can use pins, but ironing is
easier to work with in the long run.

take appropriate size plastic ring and place on the inside of the cut end
of the material. the material will be standing up at this point.
fold the material down over the ring so it completely covers the ring plus
some for either sewing it into place or you can hot glue into place. i
sew them. they do not take very long and look more proffesional. to sew,
you will be working on the inside of the material with the folded
edge up. just slowly stitch and adjust as you go around. sew the entire
ring into place and make sure to backstitch when you get to your original
stitching place. for the plainer material i use a contrasting and decorative
stitch. for patterned material a matching thread.

remove from sewing machine and trim threads.
using the awl, punch 3 evenly spaced holes through the material and plastic
ring end of the project about half an inch down from the edge. at this
point i put eye rivets into the holes. but you could use a fray check
product instead to seal the hole edges.

take the fishing line and measure and cut three pieces about eighteen inches
long each.
take one small metal or plastic ring. attatch one end of all three pieces
of the cut fishing line to it. then straighten out the lines so that
they do not cross and attatch one line to one hole in the body of the project.
hang the project up by the small ring. now attatch the second line to another
hole and adjust so they will be of even length and the project hangs evenly.
attatch the third line to the last hole. adjust so the whole project
hangs evenly. any excess fishing line strings that jut out and look
awkward i melt off carefully with a lighter. but be careful, you do not
want to melt the whole line or set the entire project on fire!
that is it. your new windsock can be hung up.

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