For this project I’m going to show you how to turn a dollar-store tablecloth into a super
simple parachute, that’s easy to make and impressively effective. So whether you’re
launching rockets or throwing Sky Balls in the park, you’ll be able to make an endless
supply of canopies for all your arial activities.
Let’s start this project with some plastic table covers. These rectangular ones are from
the dollar-store and there are loads of different colors you could choose from, and as you might
have guessed, I’m going with yellow.
If you look closely at the ends, you should see that the material is smooth and folded
over on one side, while the other side has all the straight cuts. And it’s important to
remember which is which.
Now this needs to be trimmed down just a little, so measure 13” from the smooth end of the
bundle, and double-check that the side you’re about to cut, is the one with all the loose ends.
I’m using an X-ACTO knife and a straight edge to try and get a clean cut, but you could
use a pair of scissors just as well.
Now that it’s trimmed, go ahead and unfold the tablecloth lengthwise, then cut a piece
exactly 26” from one of the ends. You should end up with a rectangle that’s 13” x 26”,
and you’ll find that a quick and easy way to mass produce these into parachute canopies,
is with a little origami.
Start by folding the rectangle in half to form a square and make sure the bottom right
corner has the 4 loose ends. If it does, then put your pointer finger on the corner to hold
it in place, and fold it point to point, forming an isosceles right triangle.
Now measure up 5 inches from the bottom, double checking that the loose ends are on the right
side, then go ahead and cut the bottom piece off. And you could use these scraps for making
micro parachutes if you wanted to.
At this point, unfold your triangle and you’ll see a little square chunk missing from the
bottom right corner. If you unfold it again two more times, you should end up with a giant
yellow cross. That’s awesome, but check this out. There’s actually another layer
underneath, which means you just made two of them without even realizing it.
I cut up the rest of the tablecloth which you can see made 8 separate canopies in about
3 minutes. So now that we’ve got all our patterns cut, the next step is to assemble them.
Grab a piece of tape about 2 inches long, and press just the upper left section of it,
to one of the corners, like this.
Now pull the other corner over and line up the two sides so you can tape them together,
and you should see the edges match perfectly at the bottom.
Alright, let’s flip the canopy over and fold the other half of the tape around, so
we can stick it flat to the inside of the parachute as well.
If you do the same thing with all 4 corners, you should see the canopy starting to take shape.
Ok we’re ready to rig the parachute cording, and for that I’m using this #3 crochet thread
I got from a local super center, but any other kind of string will probably work just as well.
I also picked up some 1/4” braided elastic cording, and a pack of #7 barrel swivels from
the fishing isle. You’ll see what those are for in just a minute.
Now our parachutes only need 2 strings, about 33” long, but in a effort to mass produce
them for 8 parachutes at once, I strung out 16 lines in a zig-zag pattern, then collected
them all together into one long bundle so they could be cut at the same time.
It’s a good idea to mark both ends of the strings an inch and a half from the bottoms,
because these markings will make it a lot easier when it’s time attach them to the canopy.
Cut the strings so they’re exactly 33 inches long, and if you did it right that should
leave 1-1/2” on either end of the markings.
Now to attach the lines to the parachute we’ll need to cut a small piece of tape, and press
it onto the string so the bottom of the tape lines up with the mark.
Then attach the string to the inside of the parachute, by pressing it flat to the plastic
cloth, making sure the mark lines up at the very bottom.
The bit of string at the top needs to be folded over and secured into place as well, so use
a second piece of tape around 2” long, and flatten the string down overtop.
Of course the other end of the string gets attached the exact same way to the corner
right beside it, and after you attach the second string to the other side, there’s
only one thing left to do.
Bring two of the attachment points together so the marks on either end of the string match
up perfectly, then pull the parachute strings completely straight.
Now without letting go of the strings, carefully tie a knot near the end.
After you’ve tied the other string the same way, line the two loops beside each other
and thread them with some of the elastic cording.
I’ve found that tying a couple square knots and pulling them really really tight, will
make sure this connection never comes undone.
Now simply trim the excess with a pair of scissors, and tie one of the swivel hooks
to the other end the same way. If you want, you can even attach barrel swivels to both
ends of of the elastic cording, and make them any length you need.
This way, if your lines get tangled to the point of frustration, they’ll be easy to
unclip and fix within seconds.
Now just for fun, I went ahead and made 8 different parachutes with various colored
tablecloths, and used them to make a colorful set of Sky Balls. If you launch one high into
the air, you’ll see a little parachute opens up, which adds another dimension to the fun
you can have outdoors. They’re super fun, and hardly take any time to make, so look
for how to build these in another project video.
Of course my favorite way to use these simple cutes, is with the homemade Randomizer Rocket
we made in another video, and it only takes a couple of simple modifications to work with these rockets.
First, make sure your elastic cording is tied securely to your parachute, then cut it off
around 13 inches long. And secondly, instead of 1 swivel clip, I recommend using 2, to
be extra sure your rockets come back safely. These simple chutes are lightweight, low cost,
and look impressively professional, considering what they’re made from.
Now packing your chute is as simple as holding it at the center, then squeezing it all together
and rolling it up. You might want to fold the material in half, and give it another
squeeze to get rid of any air, but essentially, all you need to do is roll it up and wrap
the strings around the outside, which will help hold the bundle together until it deploys.
Well now you know how to convert the humble plastic tablecloth, into a boat load of parachute
recovery systems. So weather you plan on making Sky Balls, or launching rockets, you’ll
have a much better chance recovering them, undamaged.
By the way, if you don’t feel like building a rocket or crafting a set of Sky Balls, these
parachutes can easily be modified to fit your favorite toys, or action figures as well.
Well that’s it for now. If you like this project perhaps you’ll like some of my others.
Check them out at www.thekingofrandom.com