Collection of handmade spinning top ideas: how to make tops for use in childcare and play
Spinning tops are a classic item enjoyed as a New Year’s game.
They’ve traditionally been played with because you can enjoy watching the top whirl around by pulling a string or twirling a stick, and they’re popular with children, too.
In this article, we’ve put together a roundup of handmade spinning top ideas that let you enjoy both making and playing.
Many can be made with simple materials you have at home, like milk cartons and flyers, so they’re easy to try.
Give it a go and create your own original tops with any illustrations or patterns you like.
- It's fun to spin! A collection of DIY toy ideas
- Handmade spinning tops with everyday materials! Easy ideas you can enjoy for New Year’s too
- Handmade ideas to create and play the traditional Japanese game “Daruma Otoshi”!
- Moving! Spinning! Flying! Fun handmade toys made with rubber bands
- Let's make a handmade hagoita! Fun ideas using milk cartons and cardboard
- Fun for elementary school kids! A collection of craft ideas using plastic bottle caps!
- [Let’s Make and Play!] Handmade Toy Ideas You Can Create Yourself
- New Year’s card ideas to make with children: simple designs using stickers and stamps
- Let's Make and Play! A Collection of Homemade Kendama Ideas
- [Handmade] A collection of stylish DIY koinobori (carp streamer) ideas
- DIY ideas for a den-den daiko (Japanese pellet drum). Let’s make and play with this nostalgic toy!
- Handmade Anpanman toy ideas
- [Handmade] A collection of bamboo-copter ideas using various materials
A collection of homemade spinning top ideas: How to make tops for preschool activities and play (1–10)
Anpanman
Here’s a handmade spinning-top idea that’s perfect for kids who love Anpanman.
The charm is that you can make it with materials you likely already have at home, like paper plates and plastic bottle caps! It’s designed so even small children can spin it easily, so why not try making it together with your child? First, create Anpanman’s face slightly smaller than the paper plate.
Next, wrap a plastic bottle cap with vinyl tape to make the nose and fix it at the center of Anpanman’s face.
Also attach another cap to the center on the back of the paper plate.
To finish, stick pieces of sparkly origami paper cut into squares around the edge of the plate, and you’re done! Try other characters too, like Baikinman, not just Anpanman.
Flyer
A spinning top made by combining two types of parts from flyers—its key points are that the materials are easy to get and it’s easy to make.
For the shaft, use a flyer rolled tightly into a long, thin tube.
Roll it firmly with thinness and sturdiness in mind, then cut it to a suitable length.
Next, fold another flyer to a width shorter than the cut shaft, wrap it around the shaft in coils to build up volume, and you’re done.
It’s important to add plenty of volume, so keep connecting multiple sheets of flyer, varying the width as you go.
It could also be fun to observe how changes in width affect the way it spins.
paper plate
This is a hand-spun top you can easily make by combining a paper plate and plastic bottle caps.
Lightly fold the paper plate in half to create a crease, then use the intersection of the creases as a guide to find the exact center.
Next, attach a plastic bottle cap to both the top and bottom of the plate at the center, and you’re done.
After that, decorate it however you like.
Since changing the weight will affect how it spins, it’s best to add decorations like pen-drawn patterns rather than heavy items.
Try experimenting with different hand and finger movements to see how they change the way it spins.
Collection of homemade spinning top ideas: How to make tops for childcare and play (11–20)
origami
We’re introducing how to fold a stylish spinning top that you can make with just three sheets of origami paper! It’s perfect for making and playing together with your child or friends.
You’ll create each part with the three sheets of paper and assemble them at the end.
There aren’t many difficult steps, and you won’t need glue or scissors, so kids can easily give it a try.
You can also freely customize it by changing the colors or adding patterned paper, letting you express your originality! It would make a delightful handmade gift from a child, too!
Easy-to-play! How to fold a spinning top
Here’s an easy and cool way to fold a spinning top.
Please prepare three sheets of origami paper.
First, fold the paper in half into a square twice.
Open it and fold it into a triangle twice.
Open it, fold it like a boat, then squash it into a square.
Using the center as the axis, fold up the edges of each of the four squares.
Open the folded sections and squash-fold them.
Use the remaining two sheets to fold the center and the top’s axle.
Align the center and the axle, and you’re done! If you make them in various sizes, they also make great decorations, so I recommend it.
How to fold a flower-like spinning top
Here’s how to fold a flower-like spinning top from a single sheet.
Double-sided origami paper is recommended.
First, fold into a triangle twice and a square twice, then open it up.
Follow the lines to make a “zabuton” base.
With the open side as the axis, fold up the edges on both sides.
Open the folded sections and squash-fold them.
After folding the bottom downward, fold the top edge downwards.
Keep folding so the lower and upper parts overlap, and finally twist the axis part with a flower-like image in mind to finish! It’s easy for kids to make, too.
Cool! Origami Beyblade
The swirl-like design looks cool! Let’s make a Beyblade out of origami.
Using three sheets of origami paper, we’ll make the outer and inner decorations of the body, plus the handle.
You can make the inner part and the handle with a cushion fold (zabuton-ori).
For the outer part, first fold all four edges inward, then open up the overlapped corners and collapse them into triangles.
From there, fold the corners toward the center, and fold the triangular sections gathered at the center back outward.
Next, fold the outer edges so they become rounded, then open the triangular sections, fold them in half, and sharpen the tips.
Combine the three parts and you’re done!
