How To Make Pin Darts

Pin darts are easy to make and can provide hours of entertainment. Follow these steps to create your own pin darts.

Materials

• Thread – you can use multiple colors
• Straight pin – It needs to have a head but it doesn’t matter if it is flat or if it has a ball on top. Needles won't work and neither will t-pins.
• Scissors
  

Instructions
1. Wrap the thread around three fingers about 40 times. You can use multiple colors for a more colorful dart. If you happen to use multiple colors, don't worry about tieing the thread together -- just start wrapping the new color.

2. Remove the thread from your fingers.

3. Twist the loops half of a turn so it makes a figure 8.

4. Pinch one of the loops so the center of the figure 8 is adjacent to your fingertips.

5. Wrap the center of the figure 8 with thread 10 times.

6. Push the straight pin half way through the center of the figure 8.

7. Fold both loops of the figure 8 toward the back of the pin.

8. Starting about 1/8” from the center of the figure 8, wrap the thread around the pin, securing the thread to the pin.

9. Wrap the loops 20 to 40 times, depending on the look you want. Cut the thread leaving 6 inches or so for your to tie it, and then cut off the extra.

10. Put your scissors through the thread loops and cut them.

12. Straighten out the thread. The loops won't be perfect, so there will be lots of different lengths. Use the scissors to even them out.  Also at this point, slide the thread back as far as possible against the head of the pin. In the photos below you can see how the pin portion becomes longer. It is easier to do step 8 if there is more of the pin to pinch while wrapping it.

 

 

12. Put your new dart in a straw, point the straw at a bulletin board, thenblow into the straw with a short, hard, burst of air.

There are obvious safety issues here. Don't ever shoot darts at people or pets.

You can make a collection in no time.

Games

Take 5 sticky notes and write different point values on them. Stick the notes onto a bulletin board. Everyone shoots their darts at the board. Points are awarded if they hit one of the sticky notes. Do 10 rounds.

Draw a target on a piece of paper. Write point values for each circle in the target.

Mark lines from varying distances from the bulletin board. If you can make the dart stick in the board from the closest line you get 1 point. From the next closest line is 2 points, etc.

See how far away you can get from the board and still make the pin stick.