Kiwi Crafts

We picked these crafts as quick simple ones that represent New Zealand, it's people and it's environment. They are ideal as swaps (we stick them on our hats here), and many can be used as fun brooches or even fridge magnets.
Please feel free to use the ideas with your guide or girl scout unit but they may not be copied for publication on the net or elsewhere without talking to us first.


Kiwi

craft pics Materials: Print off your kiwi pattern pieces here

Method:

  1. Cut 2 body pieces out of fur fabric, 2 wings from brown felt, 1 feet piece and one beak from yellow vinyl.
  2. Body and wings - with right sides together and wings tucked to the inside sew from base around top to base - leaving a space for turning the right way out. (fig 1)
  3. Turn right side out and stuff the body, gathering in the base slightly to make it round before sewing it up.
  4. Feet - position rounded base of body onto round area of feet piece and glue carefully.
  5. Beak - glue only the top of the beak into fur, not the whole length of beak.
  6. Eyes - add wobbly eyes just above top of beak. (White plastic with black pupils can be used as a good alternative to bought eyes).
Information:
The kiwi is a nocturnal flightless bird native to New Zealand. The kiwifruit (all one word) is a fuzzy fruit, also called the chinese gooseberry. To call the fruit a kiwi is offensive to a growing number of New Zealanders as the kiwi is our national bird and a strong symbol of our country. New Zealanders are also affectionately known as Kiwis. If you are making these stuffed kiwis with your unit please be informed about our national icon - visit the Kiwi site.

Kiwi - pompom version

Materials: Method:
  1. Stick the two pompoms on top of each other (if using 2 sizes the smaller on is the head).
  2. Stick two wobbly eyes on the top one in 'eye' position :)
  3. Cut a long triangle beak out of the felt eg. 4mm at wide end tappered to a point about 2 cm long.
  4. Stick in 'beak' position just below and between the eyes.
  5. Cut out feet from felt in one piece. Flat across the back with 6 toes pointing out the front. (There will be graphics here eventually - but I won't have time until at least March 1998 - sorry :( )
  6. Stick feet to the bottom of the bottom pom pom with the toes sticking out the front - the pompom kiwi should be able to stand on its feet.
  7. Then depending on what you want to do with your pompom kiwi,
    - stick a loop of ribbon on the back to hang up or use a pin through the ribbon to pin on a shirt or hat.
    - stick a pin on the back to pin on a shirt or hat.
    - stick a piece of magnet on the back and stick to the fridge.
Information:
The kiwi is a nocturnal flightless bird native to New Zealand. The kiwifruit (all one word) is a fuzzy fruit, also called the chinese gooseberry. To call the fruit a kiwi is offensive to a growing number of New Zealanders as the kiwi is our national bird and a strong symbol of our country. New Zealanders are also affectionately known as Kiwis. If you are making these pompom kiwis with your unit please be informed about our national icon - visit the Kiwi site.


Koruhuhu or whizzer

craft pics Materials: Print off your kohuhuhu pattern piece here

Method:

  1. Using heavy card (the weight helps it spin better) punch out the centre holes on the pattern piece with a thick needle or other pointed tool.
  2. Thread with a piece of string approximately 85cm long and tie ends together.
  3. Optional - decorate the koruhuhu with geometric designs. Those used on the sample are based on a traditional koru pattern. Red, white and black are the most usual colours for Maori art as they were the most readily available, but brighter colours were used when there was access to them.
To use:
Information:
This toy was originally made of thin wood pointed at the end and was left plain rather than decorated. Maori also made a similar shaped but larger object that was usually more ornate. This was the purerehua or bullroarer which was used by the tohunga for ritual purposes and not by children. The koruhuhu and the purerehua should not be confused - one was a toy, the other had much greater purpose.


Mini Poi

craft pics Materials: Method:
  1. Crush tissue paper to form a ball the size you require. We usually make ours about 1 cm in diameter or slightly smaller.
  2. Cover the ball with piece of plastic bag cut to an appropriate size. You do want some spare plastic left at the top so that it will look something like the picture when finished.
  3. Cut 3 strips of raffia about 38 cm long. You want reasonably thin pieces of colour as these are mini pois. If raffia is too wide split it gently in half lengthways.
  4. Wrap raffia around tissue ball so that you have vertical stripes of raffia colour going down one side of the ball and up the other inside the plastic cover.
  5. Secure the plastic and raffia tightly at neck of ball by twisting neatly around with thread and tying off.
  6. Plait the long ends of raffia to give you the poi string.
  7. Pois are often used in pairs so make another and tie the two strings together at the top. Alternatively you can make the raffia or wool double the length and make a poi on each end of the one plait.
  8. Pin on hat.
Information:
Pois are used by Maori women in many traditional dances. They are twirled around to make patterns in the air in keeping with the song. They are also used to create rhythm in songs, as they are tapped as they swirl. Poi dances are very graceful and beautiful to watch. The pois you have made are many many times smaller than the ones used in dancing and are not made in a traditional way.


NZ bookmarks

Materials:
  • 2 pipecleaners or a round shoelace or cord or a leather thong (for bookmarker part)
  • beads - 2 per bookmark in different sizes
  • wobbly eyes (choose size to suit smaller bead)
  • craft glue
  • felt / leather scraps / wool / indelible pens (to decorate beads) Method:
    1. If using pipecleaners twist two together to make one thicker shape.
    2. Thread the two beads onto the bookmarker and glue so that the smaller bead, (the head), is on the end of the strip and the larger bead, (the body), just below it. You should have a long tail of bookmarker strip below the bottom bead.
    3. Glue your wobbly eyes on to the top bead (the small one)
    4. Decorate with imagination.
    5. Your bookmark companion will sit on top of your book happily reading when you aren't (and sometimes even when you are)! :)
    Ideas for decorating:

    Sheep

    craft pics Materials: Print off your sheep pattern pieces here

    Method:

    1. If using sheepskin cut your body out using pattern 1.
    2. If using carded wool and felt cut your body out of black felt using pattern 2 and carefully glue on a reasonable amount of carded wool.
    3. Cut a small sheeps face out of black felt using pattern 3.
    4. Glue 2 small wobbly eyes per sheep onto face.
    5. If using sheepskin cut out a pair of legs from black felt using pattern 4, and carefully attach to back of sheepskin so that they peek out underneath.
    6. Carefully glue face on to sheep - positioning towards the top as in finished picture.
    7. Attach to hat with a safety pin or attach strip magnet on the back to use as a fridge magnet.

    Information:
    Although NZ has lots of sheep per head of population - this number is now (as of 1996) exceeded by Australia - so enough of the sheep jokes!! *grin*


    Tipare (traditional flax headband)

    Materials: Method:
    1. Take two strips of flax (or paper).
    2. Form one into a "V" and thread the other through it. Make the strips of uneven length so that later as you add new pieces they are not added all at once. (This will make sense after you have tried making one ;) )
    3. With your straight piece through your "V" so that the right hand half of your "V" is on top of your straight strip we will number the strips from left to right 1,2, 3, 4. It may help to pencil the number lightly onto strip ends the first time you attempt this plait.
    4. Bend strip 4, [the strip on the right], over 3 so that it is parallel to 2.
    5. Bend strip 1 under 2 and over 4 so that it is parallel to 3.
    6. Bend strip 3 over 1 so that it is parallel to 4 and 2.
    7. Strip to under 4 bend over 3 to be parallel to one.
    8. Continue steps D and E. When a new strip needs to be added - overlap it on the original strip for about four cm. Weave the double strip and cut off ends later. Weave enough to fit around your head and leave 12 cm of each strip unused.
    9. Bend into a ring. Take one 12 cm end strip at a time and follow the over and under path at the beginning end. Follow 3 under and overs. Leave the end hanging. Weave all four strips back into the beginning.
    10. Pull up evenly and weave in ends until the band is firm. Trim all ends. This should join the ring "seamlessly"

    Information:
    Flax is a New Zealand native plant - not the one used in other parts of the world to make linen. It's Maori name is harakeke and it's botanical name is Phormium tenax. Harakeke and harakeke fibre were used (pre-European and during early European contact) to make many highly functional and beautiful everyday items including shoes and clothing within Maori society. As it was such an important plant there are many customs about the handling and care of flax which are still adhered to today.


    Woozle

    Materials:

    Method:

    1. Thread wool on to hairclip so that hairclip is in the middle of the lengths of wool.
    2. Pull through bead so that the loops are sticking out about 1cm.
    3. Remove hairclip and put some glue where the loops come out of the bead (to stop it pulling out).
    4. Plait 2 arms with the ends of the shorter wool lengths, and two legs with the ends of the longer wool lengths.
    5. Paint a face on the bead.
    6. Clip through loops at top to make hair.

    Information:
    The much-loved Woozle is the NZ Ranger section mascot and is made in an endless variety of ways. She is fun loving, very red (the Ranger section colour), and a good person to have around in a tight spot. Her likeness can be found all the way through the NZ Ranger Handbook and also on various blanket patches available from the NZ Guide Mail order service.


    Sources and Acknowledgements

    Te Rama - The Magazine of Guides New Zealand.
    August / September - Volume 4 - 1995 p.31 (Woozle)

    My thanks also to Cheryl W. for some international swap patterns; to Raewyn K. for letting me use her instructions for the pompom kiwi rather than having to create a set from scratch; to Sallie Z. for giving me the mental exercise of working out tipare instructions without pictures so her GSUSA troop could make them for Thinking Day 1996; and to Janet O. both for the inspiration and basic instructions for the bookmarks and for unwittingly reminding me about a little owl bookmark we had at home when I was a kid.

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