B ack in the psychedelic ’70s, a friend gave us a wonderful wind thingie.
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It wasn’t chimes and it wasn’t a spinner, it was a small ring with strands and strands of thin, rainbow-colored cord hanging from it. When a breeze came up, the effect was lovely; the cords moved fluidly and it was very relaxing to watch.
We’ve often thought about trying to re-create this wind thingie, and decided to give it a whirl in this week’s Craft Corner.
To make our cord wind thingie, you’ll need a small metal, plastic or wooden ring, scissors and lots of cord. We used a 6-inch metal ring and it took about 100 yards of cord to complete the project.
Keep in mind that the larger the ring you use, the more cord you’ll need, and it can get pricey.
We found cord in a variety of colors for 49 cents per yard at a fabric store, but if we hadn’t been up against a deadline for this project, we would have searched online for a better price. Purchasing an entire spool of cord or ribbon is often much less expensive than buying it by the yard.
Also, we would probably try to find finer cord so the strands would swirl more fluidly than the thicker cord.
That said, we were still pleased with the final product.
When you have the ring and cord, the next step is to cut the cord into 2-yard lengths and loop them around the ring so that the strands will be 1 yard long.
You can keep one color together (as we did) or mix them up as you add them to the ring.
When all the cord is on the ring, cut three lengths of cord about 2 feet long and loop them at 1/3 intervals on the ring. Tie the three lengths together to form a hanger.
Hang the wind thingie somewhere convenient so that you can trim the ends of the strands evenly all around, and dip the ends in Fray-Check to prevent fraying.
If you like, you can add beads to the ends of the strands, but remember that this will weigh them down and diminish the fluid motion.
While searching for our cord, we came across some fun St. Patrick’s Day ribbon decorated with Irish sayings and shamrocks, and decided to make a second wind thingie using ribbon.
To make our ribbon wind thingie, you’ll need an embroidery hoop, plenty of ribbon, scissors and a hot-glue gun.
We used an 8-inch embroidery hoop and green and white ribbon – as well as the decorated ribbon mentioned above – in a variety of widths. Again, keep in mind that the larger the hoop, the more ribbon you’ll need.
Begin by cutting a length of ribbon long enough to go around the outside of the embroidery hoop, then glue it onto the hoop using a hot-glue gun. Do the same for the inside of the hoop.
Next, cut your ribbon into 1-yard lengths and take the embroidery hoop apart. Glue the strands of ribbon – one at a time – to the outside of the inner hoop until the hoop is filled.
Replace the outer hoop and tighten securely.
Cut three lengths of ribbon or cord about 2 feet long and loop them at 1/3 intervals on the ring. Tie the three lengths together to form a hanger.
Hang the thingie somewhere convenient so that you can trim the ends of the ribbon, and dip the trimmed ends in Fray-Check.
We actually like the ribbon result better than the cord in this particular case, as the ribbon flutters very gently in the breeze and the cord takes a bit more bluster to get it moving.
You can use the same technique to make ribbon wind thingies for Easter, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas or any occasion that tickles your fancy.
Note: It’s best to hang these wind thingies in a covered area where they are protected from sun and moisture. They’ll stand a bit of weather, but likely won’t last for more than one season if not treated with a little TLC.
Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com
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