The other day my son won a little parachute guy at a carnival. When I saw it, I knew it would be easy to recreate. So, I decided to make a few parachutes for his LEGO mini-figures. The only thing I did different was make the parachute so it could attach/detach to different toys (much more fun that way). I also made it a little more sturdier which you will see in the instructions. These little toy parachutes would be great for party favors or to chase away the boredom blues.
Supplies:
Paperclip
Plastic bag cut into a 10" by 10" square
4 Pieces of thread cut to 24" each
Scissors
Sewing needle
Tape
Rubber band - for harness
Add tape in all four corners on the top side and bottom side of plastic ( 8 pieces total). This will reinforce the plastic where the thread is. The first time I made the parachute without the tape it ripped in the corners after a few uses.
Double thread needle and tie a knot at the end. Insert needle through the top of the parachute in the corner. Bring needle all the way down until knot catches. Tie end with needle onto paper clip. Trim ends. Repeat this with all four corners. Try not to twist thread when tying knots.
To prevent the thread from sliding off the paper clip or getting tangled, wrap tape around all thread where it meets the paperclip (refer to picture).
How to make the harness: Wrap rubber band around figure. The rubber band should go under the arms. Now take the bottom part of the rubber band and pull it under the top part of rubber band (refer to pictures). This allows you to attach the parachute to any figure.
Attach paperclip to the harness and you're ready to launch your parachute. Drop them from high places or throw them up in the air and watch the parachute open. Make sure to untwist with each use. Sometimes they get a little tangled.*The LEGO mini-figs will drop down much quicker compared to the plastic army men. Experiment with different toys and have fun!
12 comments:
bookmarked. mt kids will love this project!
Awesome! You took a potentially "mean mommie" moment and turned it around. I'll bet you're a Rock Star in your children's eyes.
Regardless of Pop Culture, I believe that saying no to all that imported garbage won't scare my kids. Creativity, and its' lesson, will far outlast a ROC trinket. Good for you!
fab idea, I can see my boy dropping all his lego men off the balcony...
jojoebi,
...and you bringing them back upstairs ;)
awesome idea. I can do this on my son's dinasours.
So cute! I may have to try to rig up some on some wood peg dolls. Do you have any good ideas on how to keep them from tangling between uses? That always seems to be the problem when we have parachute men.
The detachable feature is genius! This is such a cool retro project, love it!
playmobile!! I love playmobile!
Thanks for making a parachute for me, my daughter will LOVE it!
What a great project! I like the big red star on the parachute, makes him look like a hero.
That's really cute. I've only just used coffee filters to "look" like a parachute, never tried to make them work before!
Ahh this is great! My 13 year old is making one right now. lol
This is really cute! My son would love to try this!!
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