Prims By the Water

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Its A Wind Wheel


Happy Hump day everyone!
It's a nice day here today in Michigan.
Blue sky with little puffy clouds here and there.

I still have the crupie cough as gramma H would say.
Only when I talk...so it's good to be able to write down
my thoughts here.

Did you know that the pinwheel was invented back in 1919,
by a Bostonian man named Tegran Samour.
He called it the wind wheel.
Before he invented his version of the wind wheel,
 they were called whirligigs.
In fact his version is still what is sold today.


I remember as a child we were given these
in Memorial Day parades.
I loved blowing on them to make them twirl.



It was fitting to make some for my Americana tree.

If you would like to make some of these for yourself.
They are fairly easy to make.

Material List

2 pieces of fabric that compliment each other
Modge Podge
Old Paintbrush
Button
Embroidery Floss to match button color
Pipe Cleaner ( I used both white and red)
Hot Glue
Low Temp Hot Glue optional (button)

Cut your two fabric pieces into a 5 inch square.
Apply Modge Podge with paintbrush to the 
backside of one of your fabric pieces.
Then top with your other fabric piece.
Each piece should be facing right side up once glued.

Let dry overnight.
This will stiffen your fabric.


Draw diagonal lines on the one side of your fabric piece
lightly with a pencil.
Now you will need to cut your fabric like I have shown.
Drawn lines are your cutting lines.
(I used paper to show better)
Just cut like I have shown...if you cut all the way across,
it will not work.

Next with 3 strands of floss, tie a knot at one end.
Bring your needle up through the middle 
from back to front.
Now this is the tricky part.

Fold over the fabric from the right corner to the middle.
Pull needle through this corner.
Rotate your piece once and repeat step 3 more times.

Finally attach your button with the floss and
knot back through the back.

If you do not want to sew in this step,
you can hot glue the pieces to the middle,
and then hot glue your button on top.
{low temp glue for your button}

I prefer to sew mine.

Next hot glue the pipe cleaner to the backside.
You now have a finished wind wheel.


If you look carefully, I have some with the blue flipped up,
and then with the stripes flipped up.

I made three of each and they look wonderful on the tree!

My next project I had to ask assistance from Bob.
More to come and then I will show the entire tree.

Wind Wheel Blessings To All!
Janice




5 comments:

  1. So cute and these bring back sweet memories of parades in my hometown as a child. Hope you feel much better soon!

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  2. Janice your pinwheels turned out so adorable! I bet they look perfect with your Americana plans as well. I sure hope that cough gets better and that you will be feeling back to normal soon! Take care and thanks for sharing this American classic we all have enjoyed over the years. I never knew the history about pinwheels and love that you shared that today with us!

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  3. So sweet I have some very inexpensive ones in my garden to keep the birds away
    Cathy

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  4. Hi Janice,
    Another great tutorial!! What a wonderful addition to your tree!! Using the pipe cleaner rather than a small dowel is perfect for your tree due to the weight!! Sure hope your cough goes away soon!!
    Thanks for sharing and looking forward to seeing your tree in all its glory!!
    Enjoy your week!
    Heart Hugs~
    Julie

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  5. Those are cute. Thank you for the tutorial!

    ReplyDelete

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