For Clockshop's Kite Festival, Build A Newspaper Kite Using The Times' Weekend Section

After much than 2 decades moving arsenic a journalist, I’ve heard a batch of ways that group reuse their newspapers: lining a pet’s cage aliases litter box; cleaning a grill; shoving respective pages into sneakers to thief them barren aft they get soaked during a hike pinch creek crossings.

I americium a large advocator of repurposing items to support them retired of nan landfill, and yet, I person ne'er felt for illustration immoderate of these reuses celebrates nan people mean for what it tin supply beyond information.

That’s 1 logic I wanted The Times to people a kite creation successful nan Weekend conception successful coordination pinch nan unit astatine Clockshop, a section organization arts nonprofit, conscionable successful clip for its annual kite festival, which is from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday astatine Los Angeles State Historic Park, 1245 N. Spring St.

And now here’s your chance to make one.

In Sunday’s newspaper, you’ll find a colorful trapezoid kite on pinch printed instructions connected really to build nan kite arsenic good arsenic a QR codification that links to a video of our squad showing you really to build it. Regardless of whether you be nan kite festival, this version of nan Weekend conception deserves to alert acold beyond nan confines of your recycling bin.

You tin bargain a transcript of nan Sunday newspaper astatine section newsstands and astir 7-Eleven, Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons, Circle K and CVS locations.

If you aren’t capable to snag a people newspaper, we’ve besides included a integer download wherever you tin people a type of our kite design. The instructions are besides below.

Skip to instructions for:

Kite utilizing newspaper | Kite utilizing integer version

The look of our kite was designed by L.A. creator Ben Sanders, who said he drew inspiration from our section landscape.

“I benignant of wanted it to look for illustration gusts of wind,” said Sanders, who hadn’t antecedently illustrated a kite design, “and I was reasoning astir upwind gusts connected nan formation and pinkish sunsets and nan shoreline and ... possibly a sun that’s being refracted.”

I person truthful galore memories of flying kites, but I must admit: Several of them aren’t great. What’s much disappointing arsenic a small kid than moving extracurricular pinch a kite successful your arms, anticipating your infinitesimal of glory, only to watch it clang repeatedly?

I asked Yaeun Stevie Choi, an L.A.-based creator and kite maker, what immoderate communal reasons kites neglect were.

“This is wherever nan physics portion of kites comes in,” they said. “Generally speaking, location are basal ingredients of really a kite flies, truthful if you don’t person those, possibly it will fail.”

For example, kites request to beryllium designed symmetrically to successfully drawback nan wind, which is often blowing horizontally, Choi said, adding that sometimes group don’t connect a kite’s tail properly, not realizing nan tail helps nan kite orient itself. Or nan kite shaper mightiness person attached nan drawstring successful a measurement that inhibits nan kite’s expertise to drawback aerial unit and rise.

The kite that readers tin build utilizing The Times’ Weekend section.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

And sometimes nan ratio is conscionable off. The area of nan sail (in our case, nan trapezoid style successful our newspaper) to nan weight of nan spars (the framework aliases rigid sticks that let nan kite to clasp its shape) really matters. Heavier spars require a larger sail while group who build miniature kites sometimes don’t see a spar aliases will only usage half a toothpick, Choi said.

Choi estimated that astir six of their first kites failed. I asked them really personification tin get complete nan embarrassment they mightiness consciousness erstwhile their kite conscionable doesn’t fly.

Choi produced a mischievous grin. “You deterioration a mask, for illustration a monster disguise [or] your favourite animal,” they said. “So you deterioration a penguin mask, truthful [onlookers] are like, ‘Oh, nan penguin made a failing kite.’ They won’t beryllium like, ‘Oh, a personification embarrassed themselves.’”

In each seriousness, building and flying a kite is an opportunity to clasp a situation alternatively than position a difficult task successful binary terms, a constituent Choi and I discussed.

I besides asked Sue Bell Yank, Clockshop’s executive director, really nan kite show began.

The statement wanted to observe nan unfastened entity supra L.A. State Historic Park and reclaim what could beryllium taken if nan controversial electrical aerial gondola system, first projected in 2018 by a institution funded by erstwhile Dodgers proprietor Frank McCourt, were built, arsenic it would return passengers complete nan parkland connected its measurement to Dodger Stadium.

Over nan years, nan show has evolved into a ceremony of nan artistry of kite-making, though Clockshop still views it arsenic a “joyful protest” that brings communities together connected nationalist lands, Yank said.

“There’s a consciousness of state successful connecting yourself to nan crushed and nan aerial and pinch nan wind,” Yank said. “You’re moving successful performance pinch quality to get this kite disconnected nan ground.”

That’s nan tone that my colleagues and I had erstwhile we started this process.

The unit astatine Clockshop gave america a fewer kite designs they suggested we consider. Then Faith Stafford, a elder lawman creation director, worked diligently to re-create 1 creation retired of newspaper. And because we’re journalists, we tested it since printing thousands of copies of a creation that doesn’t activity would require a historical and embarrassing correction nary of america would afloat retrieve from.

I procured room twine from The Times’ Kitchen head Luciana Momesso, and 3 of america — Stafford, lawman features editor Marques Harper and I — headed to The Times’ parking car shed astatine our El Segundo office.

At nan apical of nan garage, we asked 1 another: “Do you cognize really to alert a kite?” It was instantly clear we’d focused intensely connected each item of our kite-making process but that.

We wandered astir nan parking batch until we recovered nan breeziest spot, though I was besides Googling “How to alert a kite successfully.” Stafford bravely fto our first newspaper prototype go, and location was a corporate sigh of alleviation and joyous exclamation erstwhile our kite flew.

At nan yearly kite festival, The Times will person a booth wherever you tin talk pinch america astir our kite and snag a transcript of nan Weekend conception that includes nan kite creation (while supplies last).

I americium truthful eager to spot our newspaper utilized successful a tactical, whimsical measurement — a reuse action that’s been location each along.

How to build nan L.A. Times kite (newspaper version)

Materials needed

• One May 3 version of nan L.A. Times’ Weekend section
  
• Two 17¼-inch bamboo spars, commonly recovered astatine market aliases farming stores* (see notes)
  
• Kite statement made of room twine** and a winder***
  
• Scissors
  
• Transparent tape

1. Using your cellphone, return photos of nan newspaper kite creation connected nan L1 screen and connected pages L6-7 and L10 earlier you commencement cutting truthful you person a reference point.

2. Now you’re fresh to build our kite. First, leaving them successful 1 ample piece, trim retired nan trapezoid-shaped kite sail and nan 2 bladed triangles connected these pages.

3. Cut retired nan trapezoidal vent successful nan mediate of nan sail, arsenic indicated, and discard.

4. If you correctly followed Step 2 and near nan kite sail and 2 triangles together successful 1 ample piece, skip to Step 6. If you mistakenly trim nan triangles from nan sail, travel this step: Tape nan 2 triangular sections to nan bottommost of nan sail, taping nan guidelines of nan triangles (non-pointy ends) to nan sail connected some sides. You want nan consecutive broadside of each triangle to look outward while some triangles’ angled sides look inward toward each other. (See images from your telephone for reference.)

5. Now you’re fresh to trim retired and link nan strips to make nan kite tail:

• Using nan arrows arsenic your guide, trim nan information beneath into six agelong strips. Make statement of nan letters connected each end.
• Applying portion to some sides, portion A to A, B to B, C to C, etc., past portion each nan strips until you person 1 agelong portion that starts and ends connected yellowish for illustration nan statement below. The colors will lucifer astatine each seam arsenic nan sketch beneath shows.

6. On nan undecorated backmost broadside of nan sail, portion nan spars successful place, arsenic shown below.

7. Get nan tail pieces you trim and assembled during Step 5. You will portion each extremity of nan tail to wherever it matches nan width of nan triangular sections to make a connected agelong loop.

8. Turn nan kite complete truthful nan beforehand (decorated) broadside faces up. Tie your kite statement securely astir nan spars, wherever they transverse successful nan mediate of nan vent. Use 2 overhand (shoelace-style) knots.

9. If utilizing a homemade winder,*** see gluing aliases taping nan drawstring to nan winder truthful that your drawstring stays connected if you hap to usage each of your drawstring to alert nan kite.

Notes:

* We tested our kite pinch bamboo spars, but if you don’t person those astir your home, you could besides effort taping woody java stirrers aliases different thin, lightweight woody objects — though bamboo chopsticks mightiness beryllium excessively heavy. Some kitemakers person occurrence pinch straws, but straws typically activity amended pinch diamond-shaped kites. A last action would beryllium aged ligament hangers, but that could require a longer tail.

** We utilized room twine, but different options are crochet thread arsenic agelong arsenic it isn’t excessively thick, aliases sportfishing line, though it tin beryllium difficult to spot and tangles easily. You tin besides find drawstring options astatine your section trade store. You want to person betwixt 50 to 100 feet of drawstring for nan kite.

*** We tested our kite without a winder, but you tin make 1 retired of galore family objects, including an quiet toilet insubstantial roll, a small, sturdy portion of cardboard aliases thing other astir your location that will thief you support from tangling your line.

How to build nan L.A. Times kite (digital version)

Materials needed

• One L.A. Times kite shape printed connected 2 11-by-17-inch sheets of 20- to 24-pound paper* spot notes
• Two 17¼-inch bamboo spars, commonly recovered astatine market aliases farming stores** (see notes)
• Kite statement made of room twine** and a winder***
• Scissors
• Transparent tape

1. Print nan pattern, ensuring nan creation is group to people connected 11-by-17-inch (tabloid) size insubstantial astatine 100% to scale. The creation mightiness not people correctly if your printer settings are group to “fit to page,” “fit to paper” aliases “fit to printable area.”

2. Cut retired nan trapezoid style (your kite’s sail) connected page 1 and nan 2 triangular segments connected nan correct and near broadside of nan trapezoid shape.

3. Tape nan 2 triangular sections to nan bottommost of nan sail, taping nan guidelines of nan triangles (non-pointy ends) to nan sail connected some sides. You want nan consecutive broadside of each triangle to look outward while some triangles’ angled sides look inward toward each different (see below).

4. Cut nan achromatic abstraction retired of nan mediate of nan trapezoid. This will beryllium your kite’s vent. You don’t request this mini achromatic portion for your kite.

5. Now you’re fresh to trim retired and link nan strips (page 2) to make nan kite tail:

• Using nan arrows arsenic your guide, trim nan information beneath into six agelong strips. Make statement of nan letters connected each end.
• Applying portion to some sides, portion A to A, B to B, C to C, etc., past portion each nan strips until you person 1 agelong portion that starts and ends connected yellowish for illustration nan statement below. The colors will lucifer astatine each seam arsenic nan sketch beneath shows.

6. On nan undecorated backmost broadside of nan sail, portion nan spars successful place, arsenic shown below.

7. Get nan tail pieces you trim and assembled during Step 5. You will portion each extremity of nan tail to wherever it matches nan width of nan triangular sections to make a connected agelong loop.

8. Turn nan kite complete truthful nan beforehand (decorated) broadside faces up. Tie your kite statement securely astir nan spars, wherever they transverse successful nan mediate of nan vent. Use 2 overhand (shoelace-style) knots.

The vanished product.

9. If utilizing a homemade winder,*** see gluing aliases taping nan drawstring to nan winder truthful that your drawstring stays connected if you hap to usage each of your drawstring to alert nan kite.

10. Go person fun!

Notes:

* We urge printing your creation connected an 11-by-17-inch, 20- aliases 24-pound portion of durable paper, for illustration enslaved paper.

** We tested our kite pinch bamboo spars, but if you don’t person those astir your home, you could besides effort taping woody java stirrers aliases different thin, lightweight woody objects — though bamboo chopsticks mightiness beryllium excessively heavy. Some kitemakers person occurrence pinch straws, but straws typically activity amended pinch diamond-shaped kites.

*** We utilized room twine, but different options are crochet thread arsenic agelong arsenic it isn’t excessively thick, aliases sportfishing line, though it tin beryllium difficult to spot and tangles easily. You tin besides find drawstring options astatine your section trade store. You want to person astir 50 feet of drawstring for nan kite.

**** We tested our kite without a winder, but you tin make 1 retired of galore family objects, including an quiet toilet insubstantial roll, a small, sturdy portion of cardboard aliases thing other astir your location that will thief you support from tangling your line.

Sources: The Drachen Foundation; Trépanier Trapezoid kite design by Québec-based creator Robert Trépanier