How to Make a Giant Flying Disc

Summer means outdoor time with friends and family, and a fun way to spend it is tossing around jumbo sized version of a Frisbee®. Making this giant flying disc is easy and requires only 3 materials and some basic sewing machine skills. It is a great project for using up old fabric and recycling an old toy.

You will need to have 4 yards of fabric, preferably something a little shiny, with a bit of stretch, such a good recycled polyester. It will probably fly better with a slick cloth, but any cloth will really do, as long as you plan to keep the ring out of the elements except when in use. The only other components for this project is the smallest size Hula Hoop (or 6 feet of lightweight plastic tubing that can be bent into a circle and glued together) and enough quilting material to completely wrap the tube for padding. You'll also need sewing supplies like scissors, pins, paper, glue, measuring tape, thread, and a marker.

Start by wrapping the hoop or tube with the padding and glue the padding down. Next, fold the cloth in half over the wrapped hoop*, so that the wrong side of the fabric faces out. Trace around the circle loosely, so as to add on ½ inch seam allowance to the circle as you draw it. Take a saucer and place it in the middle of the big circle, then trace around that. Remove the hoop and pin the fabric together. Cut around the outside circle, then sew around the edge with a ½ inch seam, leaving about 3 inches un-sewn. Pin down around the center circle and cut it out through both thicknesses of material. Turn the fabric right side out. Insert the hoop**, then glue it back together and hand sew the remaining outside edges together. Sew around the inside edge of the hoop. Glue the center circle edges together.

* If you are using tubing, bend it into a circle, glue it and allow to dry before proceeding.
**If you are using a pre-made hoop, cut or otherwise separate the attached ends so that you have a length of tube.