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Forums > Technical Discussion > Sewing my own homemade poi
Login/Join to ParticipatePosted:Hi there, anyone got any ideas / comments on the following?
I saw an unusual set of poi at Glastonbury Festival 2003, the guy had some long stripy material with a small ball near the end, they looked like socks but without the heel, no handles, no tails, just stretchy fabric which he held at one end. Looked great.
I'm making my own, I've got the material (heavy weight satin, quite slippery so I'm hoping it'll be good for wraps and hyperloops) and the thread, just wondered if anyone had any ideas about how to sew a hemisphere on the weighted end.
I want the poi to be as smooth as possible all over as my style is very wrappy and slidey, I've seen some patterns like that on a tennis ball:
Non-Https Image Link
Would this work?
Anyone foresee any problems?
The weight will be dried beans, any ideas about how to secure these at the business end? Again, I won't be using any handles per se, but grips of some sort might be in order.
Any comments appreciated, catch you later!
J
I saw an unusual set of poi at Glastonbury Festival 2003, the guy had some long stripy material with a small ball near the end, they looked like socks but without the heel, no handles, no tails, just stretchy fabric which he held at one end. Looked great.
I'm making my own, I've got the material (heavy weight satin, quite slippery so I'm hoping it'll be good for wraps and hyperloops) and the thread, just wondered if anyone had any ideas about how to sew a hemisphere on the weighted end.
I want the poi to be as smooth as possible all over as my style is very wrappy and slidey, I've seen some patterns like that on a tennis ball:
Non-Https Image Link
Would this work?
Anyone foresee any problems?
The weight will be dried beans, any ideas about how to secure these at the business end? Again, I won't be using any handles per se, but grips of some sort might be in order.
Any comments appreciated, catch you later!
J
Posh ravers wear ties.
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Posted:I'm currently using that same pattern for a ball that I am hand stitching. Making the pattern is a bit of a pain kind of a trial and error. It's kind of a rounded hourglass. Once you get it the stitch I'm using is a baseball stitch. Click here for a link that helped me. 
Are you going to make like a tube sock with the weight at one end? If so I would not worry too much about the hemisphere pattern if the stitching is at the very end, the stitches would not come in contact with anything while wrapping.
Are you going to make like a tube sock with the weight at one end? If so I would not worry too much about the hemisphere pattern if the stitching is at the very end, the stitches would not come in contact with anything while wrapping.
Cody Canon
Controlled Burn, Reno Nevada
Posted:Thanks Cody, that link's quite helpful!
The stitching at the end is just for the look, to be honest, I want the whole poi to be as smooth as possible...
...seamless, in fact.
I'm going to start tonight...
J
The stitching at the end is just for the look, to be honest, I want the whole poi to be as smooth as possible...
...seamless, in fact.
I'm going to start tonight...
J
Posh ravers wear ties.
DeletePosted:They probably were just socks that you saw... over time they stop looking like socks!
Quick, easy cheap and seamless, just buy some knee-high ladies stripy socks and away you go, weight them with whatever you like
Quick, easy cheap and seamless, just buy some knee-high ladies stripy socks and away you go, weight them with whatever you like
The optimist claims that we are living in the best of all possible worlds.
The pessimist fears this is true.
Always make time to play in the snow.
Posted:
Non-Https Image Link
this is the kind of pattern you want - the green is the seam allowance and the blue bits are darts - you wouldn't neccesarrily need them, it depends how rounded you want the end.
Non-Https Image Link
this is the kind of pattern you want - the green is the seam allowance and the blue bits are darts - you wouldn't neccesarrily need them, it depends how rounded you want the end.
I had a dream that my friend had a
strong-bad pop up book,
it was the book of my dreams.
Matthew_Ne
SILVER Member since Dec 2002
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Northeast USA Firespinner
Location: Connecticut, USA
Total posts: 122
SILVER Member since Dec 2002
Northeast USA Firespinner
Location: Connecticut, USA
Total posts: 122
Posted:Might wanna try knitting some.. like this Fun Knitted Multi-Colored Poi I could get you in contact with the guy who made them for me.. they're fun.
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Posted:They look nice Hexus 
Tao Star: that sounds like the pattern I need but I can't see the picture. It's all the way reddexed.
Polythene: they might have been socks, but they didn't have a heel...
Haven't got round to the sewing yet, was playing Ultimate (frisbee) all weekend and had T'ai Chi class last night. Maybe tonight.
J
Tao Star: that sounds like the pattern I need but I can't see the picture. It's all the way reddexed.
Polythene: they might have been socks, but they didn't have a heel...
Haven't got round to the sewing yet, was playing Ultimate (frisbee) all weekend and had T'ai Chi class last night. Maybe tonight.
J
Posh ravers wear ties.
DeleteTheBovrilMonkey
SILVER Member since Sep 2001
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Liquid Cow
Location: High Wycombe, England
Total posts: 2629
SILVER Member since Sep 2001
Liquid Cow
Location: High Wycombe, England
Total posts: 2629
Posted:
There's a way of putting a ball into a sock that gets rid of the heel, but it's pretty hard to type out to that it makes sense
To start with, turn the sock inside out and then put the ball inside.
Then you twist the ball around a few times before pulling the sock the right way out again. Unless the sock has really long feet parts, the heel should be hidden
For the sock-type poi that I have the sewn bit at the end is just a semi-circle. I work on the theory that it doesn't have to be a proper hemisphere because it's going to be spinning and no-one will notice if it's not exact.
Plus, I'm lazy when it comes to sewing
There's a way of putting a ball into a sock that gets rid of the heel, but it's pretty hard to type out to that it makes sense
To start with, turn the sock inside out and then put the ball inside.
Then you twist the ball around a few times before pulling the sock the right way out again. Unless the sock has really long feet parts, the heel should be hidden
For the sock-type poi that I have the sewn bit at the end is just a semi-circle. I work on the theory that it doesn't have to be a proper hemisphere because it's going to be spinning and no-one will notice if it's not exact.
Plus, I'm lazy when it comes to sewing
But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.
DeleteDunc
GOLD Member since Aug 2003
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playing the days away
Location: The Middle lands, United Kingd...
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GOLD Member since Aug 2003
playing the days away
Location: The Middle lands, United Kingd...
Total posts: 7263
Posted:I wash wondering how can people see the heel when they're spinning round??
I like the look of the knitted ones....I think I might get some done by my girls Mom cuz she's a knitting allstar and is even knitting a humongus sofa throw for me!!
I like the look of the knitted ones....I think I might get some done by my girls Mom cuz she's a knitting allstar and is even knitting a humongus sofa throw for me!!
Let's relight this forum 
Dunc
GOLD Member since Aug 2003
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playing the days away
Location: The Middle lands, United Kingd...
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playing the days away
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Sterlingspider
BRONZE Member since Aug 2002
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Senator by day, Sith Lord by night.
Location: Suffolk, New York, USA
Total posts: 128
BRONZE Member since Aug 2002
Senator by day, Sith Lord by night.
Location: Suffolk, New York, USA
Total posts: 128
Posted:You mentioned that your fabric is a heavy satin material. From experience satin is a pain to work with and isn't as strong as the kinds of fabrics poi are usually made from. It may be well worth your while to find some sort of strong light lining fabric and double up the thickness of your satin with that.
Also, satin frays like crazy and can drive you nuts if youre not used to how to deal with it. Give yourself a really huge seam allowance and possibly consider picking up some sort of seam sealer (a product you put on the edge of fabric to keep it from unravelling).
To hide the heel in sock poi try putting the ball in the sock inside out, turning it once or twice so that the sock is tight in the toe, tie that off with somthing (a zip tie perhaps?), and then turn the whole thing right side out.
It'll shorten the sock but should hide the heel. If that doesnt work do the same thing one more time, but start with the sock right side out. (is that what you meant Bovril Monkey?)
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Also, satin frays like crazy and can drive you nuts if youre not used to how to deal with it. Give yourself a really huge seam allowance and possibly consider picking up some sort of seam sealer (a product you put on the edge of fabric to keep it from unravelling).
To hide the heel in sock poi try putting the ball in the sock inside out, turning it once or twice so that the sock is tight in the toe, tie that off with somthing (a zip tie perhaps?), and then turn the whole thing right side out.
It'll shorten the sock but should hide the heel. If that doesnt work do the same thing one more time, but start with the sock right side out. (is that what you meant Bovril Monkey?)
______________________________________________________________
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"If the human brain were simple enough for us to understand, we would be too simple to understand it"
-Emerson M Pugh
Posted:OK - did a search and this was the closest that came up... 
hope it's the right one...
I'd like to make a set of "sock-like" poi.. meaning some (LED)-ball in some fabric... no chain, no tail... the handle will be the end of the fabric folded over and sewed...
now I've been going through this thread and saw that a pattern was attached.... MOST UNFORUNATELY this sewing pattern was deleted....
for whatever reason
PLEASE could anyone help me out with a sewing pattern for "sock-like" poi made from a stretchy fabric?????
That would just be
aweseome
EDITED_BY: FireTom (1140942554)
hope it's the right one...I'd like to make a set of "sock-like" poi.. meaning some (LED)-ball in some fabric... no chain, no tail... the handle will be the end of the fabric folded over and sewed...
now I've been going through this thread and saw that a pattern was attached.... MOST UNFORUNATELY this sewing pattern was deleted....
for whatever reason PLEASE could anyone help me out with a sewing pattern for "sock-like" poi made from a stretchy fabric?????
That would just be
aweseome EDITED_BY: FireTom (1140942554)
the best smiles are the ones you lead to 
TheBovrilMonkey
SILVER Member since Sep 2001
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Liquid Cow
Location: High Wycombe, England
Total posts: 2629
SILVER Member since Sep 2001
Liquid Cow
Location: High Wycombe, England
Total posts: 2629
Posted:Written by: FireTom
PLEASE could anyone help me out with a sewing pattern for "sock-like" poi made from a stretchy fabric?????
Yes
A quote from this page, which has pictures and a lot more info too:
Written by: Dom
Get a bit of fabric at least 120 cm long. At one end put 2 dots about 5cm apart. 120 down the fabric put 2 dots about 20 cm apart. Obvioulsy mae sure the centre of the dots meet up. Join the dots, cut out, stitch all but the wide end, turn inside out. The draw-string thingies (TM) (tupence fee for use on it's way) are basically large hems with string through them. When you pull them tight you secure them using the secret method (TM) or a knot which tightens itself up with use.
TaDa!
PLEASE could anyone help me out with a sewing pattern for "sock-like" poi made from a stretchy fabric?????
Yes
A quote from this page, which has pictures and a lot more info too:
Written by: Dom
Get a bit of fabric at least 120 cm long. At one end put 2 dots about 5cm apart. 120 down the fabric put 2 dots about 20 cm apart. Obvioulsy mae sure the centre of the dots meet up. Join the dots, cut out, stitch all but the wide end, turn inside out. The draw-string thingies (TM) (tupence fee for use on it's way) are basically large hems with string through them. When you pull them tight you secure them using the secret method (TM) or a knot which tightens itself up with use.
TaDa!
But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.
DeletePosted:Easier than snotting... *g*
Awesome and thanks to you Bovril!
Awesome and thanks to you Bovril!
the best smiles are the ones you lead to
jo_rhymes
SILVER Member since Apr 2005
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Momma Bear
Location: Telford, Shrops, United Kingdo...
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SILVER Member since Apr 2005
Momma Bear
Location: Telford, Shrops, United Kingdo...
Total posts: 4525
Posted:i'm making my own poi today, i've not really bothered with any planning, just doing it as it comes. I'll post pics when i've finished
Hoppers are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.
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