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.
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Collection of homemade spinning top ideas: How to make tops for childcare and play (11–20)
A spinning top with a helmet-like shapeNEW!
An origami spinning top you can make and play with! Please prepare three sheets of your favorite origami paper.
The inside of the top and the handle can be made simply by repeating the “zabuton” fold.
The outer part adds helmet-like decorations along the edges, so the steps are a bit more detailed, but if you can fold a crane by yourself, you should be able to complete it without any problem.
In the end, you’ll assemble the parts you made to finish a single top.
Using different colors of origami paper for each part lets you enjoy the color effects when it spins.
Be sure to have fun with top battles, too!
Let’s blow and play! How to fold a blow-top (spinning top you spin by blowing)NEW!
This is a fun blow-top origami that spins when you blow on it.
First, prepare two square sheets of origami paper, and place one with the colored side facing down.
Fold it in half into a triangle, then fold it into a triangle once more.
Open it up, then fold it in half into a square and continue with the “zabuton” (cushion) fold.
Using the closed side as the axis, fold up the left and right edges on both sides.
Fold down the triangles on the two faces.
Make two of these and fit them together.
Try blowing on it with a “fuu—.” Blow strongly or gently and enjoy the differences in how it spins!
One sheet of origami! How to fold a spinning top you can display and play withNEW!
This is a spinning top you can make using steps similar to the classic crane.
Please prepare a toothpick-like twig for the handle and axle.
Prepare one sheet of origami, fold it into a triangle twice, then squash the pocketed part into a square.
Next, crease and change the shape into a diamond.
Up to this point, it’s the same as the crane, right? Turn a layer of the paper to change the face, then fold up the bottom corners on both sides to make the origami into a triangle.
Now that you should have four triangles on the sides, make a mountain fold along each triangle’s center line and collapse it sideways, flattening it so each triangle becomes half its size.
When it looks like a pinwheel, flip the origami over and fold the collapsed sections inward to create a spiral pattern.
Insert the toothpick-like twig into the center, and it’s complete.
How to fold a spinning top using two sheets of origami paperNEW!
Here’s how to fold a spinning top that twirls with just a light touch.
First, fold into a triangle twice to make crease lines.
Fold all four corners to the center to set the creases.
Turn the paper over so a corner faces you, then fold that front corner up to the top crease.
Open it and turn to the front, then use the “Kannon” fold to make guiding creases.
Fold the corners along the creases so they overlap into a square.
Shape it into a three-dimensional form like a spinning top—this completes the shaft.
Using another sheet of origami paper, start from the “zabuton” fold to make the body.
Finally, stack the two pieces together and you’re done!
How to fold a playable spinning topNEW!
Here’s a simple spinning top idea made with two sheets of origami paper.
If you can do the “zabuton fold,” where you fold all four corners toward the center, you can make it.
Use the first sheet for the body of the top and the second sheet for the handle.
For the body, do one zabuton fold, then flip the paper over and fold the same way.
Flip the paper over once more and do another zabuton fold.
Then fold the four corners that have gathered on the back outward into triangles, and the body is done.
For the handle, do the zabuton fold three times in a row without flipping, then valley-fold along the diagonal and press it flat.
Insert the handle into the inner, folded-back section of the body to complete the top.
Cute to display! A flat spinning topNEW!
Perfect for wall decorations, too! This is a flat spinning top made from a single sheet of origami.
First, fold the paper into a triangle to make a crease, then open it and rotate it so the crease runs vertically.
Next, fold both lower edges in to meet the crease, then flip the paper over.
Fold the top corner down into a triangle to make a crease and unfold it, then fold the top corner down again along that crease.
Using the crease, make two roll folds on the same section, then flip the paper over.
Fold the bottom corner up so it sticks out slightly above the top, then fold the left and right corners to shape it like a spinning top.
Turn the origami to the front, and fold both sides to the back so the colored section forms a triangle.
Finally, make a step fold at the bottom corner to finish!
How to fold a playable Anpanman spinning topNEW!
Let’s make a Beyblade you can easily battle with using origami! In this idea, you’ll use four sheets of origami paper to create the outer body, inner body, handle, and hand decorations, then combine them into a single Beyblade.
The inner body and handle are basically made with the zabuton fold.
The outer body follows the same steps as the trick boat up to a point.
After making two boats, squash both sides into squares, then transform them into diamond shapes.
Draw the Anpanman illustration on this part.
Finally, make four hand decorations using origami paper cut into quarters, insert them into the illustrated section, and you’re done! The folding steps themselves aren’t difficult, so it’s perfect for parent-child origami time.
Marbles and rubber bands
It’s a simple-looking craft that doesn’t seem like a spinning top at first glance: just link rubber bands together and attach a marble to each end.
The key is how you spin it.
Hold one marble, then rotate the other in circles to wind the rubber bands around the marble you’re holding.
Once the rubber bands are wound tightly, you’re ready—let go, and the rubber bands unwind, making the two marbles spin around rapidly.
The sight of it gradually expanding and the colorful marbles zipping around is quite striking.
Thread-spinning top
Let’s try making a cool, fast-spinning pull-string top! It’s a perfect craft idea for kids, too.
This top can be spun just by pulling a string, even if you don’t have much strength.
First, create the top’s shape with Perler beads (fuse beads), then insert a chopstick with a sharpened tip into the center of the top.
It will spin well as is, but by adding a mechanism with a straw to pull the string, you can make it spin even more powerfully! Winding and pulling the string might feel a little tricky at first, but give it a try and spin your top in style!
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.