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How to Make a Paper Sode Kite
Step-by-Step—Page 2 of 3
The MBK Paper Sode
The Upper Horizontal Spars
Measure Shapes
Measured and dots marked- Measure and mark dots as indicated in the photo. The five shapes can be placed anywhere on the paper, as long as they don't overlap.
Draw Lines
Lines drawn between dots- Using your pen and ruler, connect the dots as shown. As you can see in the photo, you don't need a line drawn across the middle of each shape.
- Inside each shape, mark U1, U2 and so on, as shown. This will avoid confusion later on.
Duplicate Shapes
The five shapes duplicated onto another sheet of paper- Get a blank sheet of paper and place it over the drawn shapes.
- Trace dots at the positions of the shape corners. Up against a window works well, with sunshine lighting up both thicknesses of paper from behind.
- Rule lines between the corner dots. There's the original and the copy in the photo.
Tape Over
Shapes taped- Lay strips of sticky tape over the spar shapes as illustrated in the photo.
- The strips of tape can overlap slightly and should cover the shapes completely. That's the only requirement, so don't fuss over the details in the photo above!
Cut Out
Shapes cut out- Cut out the shapes, which will be totally covered in tape on one side. A little bit of curl is OK.
Stick Together
Longest and next longest shapes stuck together- Lay down the two longest shapes with the taped sides facing down.
- Lay the next longest shapes over the top of the longest shapes, also with the taped sides facing down.
- Line up the wide ends exactly, shift the top shape up or down to center it over the lower shape.
- Stick the wide ends together with a square of tape, wrapping it around the edge.
- Tack down the narrower ends with squares of tape as shown in the photo.
Remaining shapes stuck down- In the same way, stick down the remaining shapes, ending with the smallest ones.
Encase in Tape
Tape laid down over one long edge- Lay a strip of sticky tape the full length of one spar piece, leaving half the width overhanging.
Tape folded around long edge- Fold the overhanging tape around so it sticks to the other side.
Tape laid and folded around remaining long edges- In the same way, wrap tape around the remaining long edges, so both spar pieces are almost completely encased in sticky tape.
- Using scissors, trim any overhanging tape from the short edges of the spar pieces.
Cut for Dihedral Joins
Measured and lines drawn, on one spar piece- Fold a spar piece in half near the wide end. Create a crease line near the edge.
- Carefully measure 0.5 cm (3/16 in.) along the crease from the edge, and make a dot.
- Rule lines from the corners to the dot, as shown in the photo. A ballpoint pen works OK over the tape — with plenty of pressure!
- Measure and draw lines on the other spar piece in the same way.
Note: A thin gray line has been added to show where the crease is.
Cutouts done on both spar pieces- Using scissors, cut along the two ruled lines on both spar pieces. See the photo.
The Lower Horizontal Spars
Measure Shapes
Measured and dots marked- Measure and mark dots as indicated in the photo. The five shapes can be placed anywhere on the paper, as long as they don't overlap.
Draw Lines
Lines drawn between dots- Using your ruler, connect the dots as shown.
- Inside each shape, mark L1, L2 and so on, as shown. Note that these shapes are very similar to the upper spar shapes!
Note: From here down, for the next few section titles, the process is exactly the same as it was for the upper spar pieces. So just photos and captions are used this time.
Duplicate Shapes
The five shapes duplicated onto another sheet of paper
Tape Over
Shapes taped
Cut Out
Shapes cut out
Stick Together
All the shapes aligned left and stuck down, smallest on top
Encase In Tape
Long edges taped
Cut for Dihedral Joins
Cutouts done on both spar pieces
The Bottom Horizontal Spars
Measure Shapes
Measured and dots marked- Measure and mark dots as indicated in the photo.
- That's the short edge of the paper across the bottom. Fold the paper in half and crease so the two short edges line up.
- Open out the paper again.
Note: You've done all this before, although the shapes were different. Hence the remaining instructions for the bottom horizontal spars are just photos and captions.
Draw Lines
Lines drawn between dots
Duplicate Shapes
The three shapes duplicated, after tracing and tearing the paper in half
Tape Over
Shapes taped
Cut Out
Shapes cut out
Stick Together
Shapes aligned left and stuck down
Encase In Tape
All long edges taped
Cut for Dihedral Joins
Cutouts done for both spar pieces
Vertical Spar Attachment
Tape One Edge
One edge taped down- Take the longest paper spar piece—the vertical spar—and lay it down, aligned with one of the guide lines and the edge of the sail as shown. The shortest length of single thickness should be at the nose end of the sail. At the left in the photo. The shorter layers of paper should be underneath, out of sight.
- Tack in place with squares of sticky tape—at least one in the middle and one near each end.
- All good? Now lay a strip of tape down the whole length, as indicated in the photo.
Tape Other Edge
Other edge tacked at tail end- Flip the spar piece across and flatten it down, so the second guide line becomes visible.
- Go to the tail end of the sail and pull the free edge of the spar piece across so it lines up with the second guide line. Tack it down with a short strip of tape, as indicated in the photo.
Edge taped the rest of the way, before ends trimmed- Tack down more and more of the spar, making sure the edge lines up with the second guide line. Go all the way across to the nose end of the sail as shown in the photo. The tape strips can overlap a little, but don't leave any gaps.
- At each end, trim off any overhanging bits of paper and/or tape, with scissors.
Shape the Spar
Pinching started at one end- Go to one end of the spar and carefully pinch it between finger and thumb, as in the photo. The aim is to get a crease right in the middle.
V shape formed, all the way along- Work your way along the spar piece, pinching tightly all the way. I like to use both hands at once, close together.
- Go all the way along and then back again, so nothing is missed. You have created a spar that is stiff enough to do the job required of it! See the photo.
As mentioned earlier, there's more kite making on this site than you can poke a stick at. :-)
Want to know the most convenient way of using it all?
The Big MBK E-book Bundle is a collection of downloads—printable PDF files which provide step-by-step instructions for many kites large and small.
That's every kite in every MBK series.
