Easy-to-Make Decorative Kites: Step-by-Step Instructions for Nine Models from Around the World
by By Bridgewater, Alan and Bridgewater, Gill
Category: Design , Decorative Arts

Flying a beautiful kite is exhilarating and all the more thrilling and rewarding when the kite soaring in the sunshine is your own creation!This exciting practical guide helps even new kite makers to experience the adventure of constructing and flying nine original kites based on traditional designs from around the world. Step-by-step instructions and detailed diagrams take you through the process of assembling, testing, decorating, and flying each of the kites. Finished kites must be aerodynamically sound, but the authors allow plenty of leeway in construction: "In kite making, precise measurements are less important than balance, proportion, and symmetry." And although materials are specified for each design, the easy-to-follow directions allow for a variety of lightweight, durable substitutions.Beginners and children will want to start with the simple, universally familiar European Diamond Kite. But neither the intricate, unusually shaped Oriental kite nor the scientifically sophisticated, efficient High-Tech Box Kite is very hard to make. The spectacular Guatemalan Sun Kite is a high flier that sings as it soars, the result of four easy-to-make "buzzers" that vibrate in the wind. Designed to be flown at night and illuminated with flashlights, the intriguing New England Ghost Kite is an excellent "swooper." Each design has a unique flying style: the Chinese Yuan flies well in a light-to-moderate wind while the High-Tech Box requires a good stiff breeze; the Chinese Dragonfly and Oriental Butterfly are low, steady fliers, and the Guatemalan Sun and Korean Warrior are showy high fliers. All are magnificent examples of a 2,000-year history of kite flying.