(thing) by dub Thu Sep 19 2002 at 15:34:36

Performance/Practice Poi and how to make them

The most common type of performance poi are made in the following way;

Another type of performance poi are windsock poi.

You will need:

Overview:

To make performance poi you need 3 seperate parts per poi, they are;

  • Finger loops, or some other comfortable way of holding the poi, split rings and metal hoops are common handles. Finger loops come in 3 main variations, single loop, double loop and triple loop. Single loops can be folded over to make self-tightening double loops.
  • The poi, which is a string and weight (in this case a tennis ball). The string and weight have fishing swivels attached to the length of he string to stop the string and streamer from tangling as easily.
  • The streamer. This is commonly made from ripstop nylon, although other materials such as Satin or Silk. Construction consists of attaching a length of material to the weight. The material should taper towards the end.

Finger Loops

In this section I will explain how to make a double loop, a single loop is pretty self explanatory and the triple loop is worth bothering with.

  • Take the 2cm by 50cm piece of material (for this example I will pretend that it is a Nylon strap, such as the ones I used to make these with).
  • Cut it in half so you have 2 pieces that are 25cm long.
  • Fold one of these in half and place a split ring against the mid-point fold.
  • Take both of the loose ends of the nylon strapping and fold them in towards each other. Keep pushing the ends towards the fold, until they are just above the split ring.
  • Now you need to use the electrical tape to hold this together whilst you sew it up.
  • At about 1cm to 2cm up from the fold where the split ring is, is where you should sew across to hold the 4 layers of material together. I recommend using too much thread.

  •  |     |
 |     |
 |     |
 |     |    Fold the two side bits
 |     |    in towards each other.
 |     |
 |     |
 |     |
 |     |
 |     |
 |     |
 |     |
 |     |
 \_____/




 /-\ /-\
 | | | |
 | | | |
 | | | |   Fingers go in looped bits "/-\" signifies the top of a loop.
 | | | |   
--------- The dotted line shows where to sew. 
 | | | |   
 \_____/   The split ring goes at the bottom, signified by "\_____/"
  • There you go, you've made one finger loop, now make the other.

Note: Some people count a triple loop as being 2 finger loops attached to a wrist brace, this is possibly the best way to use poi safely but isn't really necessary for anything other than fire-poi

The Poi

Note: All measurements are approximate and are totally down to individual preference. In fact that goes for this entire write-up.

Basically poi are just weights attached to strings, so lets do that. However because we can we'll add some extra bits. Oh and there are dozens of ways of doing this I'm just suggesting what I consider to be a simple one.

  • Take 1 tennis ball and punch a hole in it, I recommend a scaple as these are sharp and tennis balls are quite tough.
  • Now go to the opposite side of the ball from the hole and cut a slit into the ball, I'll let you work out how large. Try not to cut the ball in half though ;)
  • Now Take your length of string (or whatever) and hold one end in your hand. Hold your hand/arm out to the side of you and with your other arm measure a length of string to your armpit
  •     O
    |A---H
    |
    |
    |
  
  O = Head
  A = Armpit
  H = Hand
  • Cut the string to that length. Do the same again for the other arm, or just use the bit you've just cut as a template.
  • Feed the string through the hole you have made in your tennis ball and pull it out through the slit.
  • Take one of your split rings and tie the end of the string that comes through the slit in the tennis ball around it.
  • Pull the string back through the tennis ball so that the split ring gets stuck against the inside of the tennis ball.
  • w00+ ball on a string.
  • If you are using Nylon string you can use a lighter or other flame/hot object to melt the end so that it does not fray. Handy ;)
  • Cut the string about 10cm up from the tennis ball and tie the two loose ends to one of your fishing swivels, this will reduce the effects of the string twisting upon itself.
  • Take another fishing swivel and attach that to the 1 remaining loose end (handle end, not ball end) of string for that poi.
  • Connect the finger loops split ring to the swivel at the end of the poi.
  • TA DA, you've made some poi!
  • Repeat process for second poi :p

The Streamer

As with every other stage of this process all aspects can be adjusted to suit individual, skill/patience/preferences/available materials.

  • Take 2 matching shapes of material which when sewn together (leaving 1 side un-sewn) will be able to fit a tennis ball.
  • Sew them together.
  • Cut a hole in the middle of 1 of them.
  • Feed the from the inside of the hole to the outside, leaving the tennis ball inside the material.
  • Sew the remaining side up.
  • Take a long piece of material and make one end the same width as the 'bag' around the tennis ball and make the other end thinner, this is called tapering.
  • Sew the long piece of material to the bag.
  • Repeat process.
  • Game Over

Note: Streamers can have multiple layers of material sewn next to or on top of one another, this makes it even prettier.

 

Disclaimer & Thanks: This information has been aquired by me(dub) and written up be me (dub) but has been learned from various different Poi and fire spinning websites, as well as people that I have met that also have an interest in playing with toys and fire.

So Thanks to the Home of Poi website (http://www.homeofpoi.com), Pete (aka Brashie), Max (aka Tennis) and my Mum for teaching me how to sew ;)

I like it! 1 C!